What Lies Beneath
by parachutingpotatoes
Summary: What if Aang wasn't an only child? What if he had a sister? And what if, a hundred and seventy years later this sister was found to still be alive? Crossover between A:TLA and LoK
1. Fire

**Hello! So, new to this fanfiction world! Although I have read stories from a certain author on this website for the past week :)**

**Anyway, hope you'll all like this story, I've actually been plotting this for some time now... **

**Enjoy!**

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"Zu Ten!" she ran down the corridor so fast, her left arm almost scrapping the stone wall. But she didn't care, she hadn't seen him in two months and she was starting to get worried. A few cuts and scraps weren't going to stop her.

He was supposed to visit her, in the Eastern Air Temple. But he never came. She had went to the firenation many times to look for him, but neither his family or friends had seen him. He was missing and now he was here. Or so she had heard.

"Anya, wait!" Hano tried calling after her but she was long gone. He shook his head and ran after his friend.

Anya looked left and right.

Where was he?

She longed the corridor, going into another and another, but found no one.

"This is so confusing..." she mumbled to herself. The temple was a stranger to her. She wasn't a monk, she didn't belong here. This was one of the rare times she was allowed in it, except for the times she would visit her brother. But the elder monks had limited that time to once a week.

She had never understood why she couldn't see her brother all the time until two weeks ago.

He was Anya' only family. Her father passed when she was only five, her mother being pregnant then, with Aang. When he was born, he took his mother's life with him, leaving both him and Anya alone.

It had been a horrible. Anya and Aang were left to be cared by the female monks and that same week, Avatar Roku's death was announced. His fall was sad to all the nations, but the air nomads were the most worried. Since the late Avatar was a Firebender, his reincarnation was, according to the cycle, an Airbender. Finding the new Avatar was not an easy task.

But the monks had come up with a new tentative: they rounded up all the newborn babies and took them to the air temple. There they would be trained into powerful Airbenders, and one of them will be recognized as the Avatar.

And that's what happened to Aang. The monks took him away from Anya, leaving her alone. But she wasn't a monk and was left with no choice but to wander off onto the streets. Not many knew about the lower regions of the Eastern Air Temple. It wasn't bad, it was good, very good in fact, but Anya being a five year old girl down there wasn't the safest thing.

That's when Gu Lin took her into his care.

"Anya?" Hano said, his voice echoing around. She whipped her face around and ran towards him. Anya was now running down the corridor again, going much faster with her bending.

"Hano where is he?" without looking, she ran straight into him, knocking both of them on the floor. Hano landed softly, using his bending to soften his fall but Anya fell right on her arm, making it scrap the floor for a few feet.

"You okay?" Hano came over to her.

She got up uncomfortably, looking at her arm. It was scrapped alright, more than that even. The whole skin on her forearm was bare, leaving it pink and bleeding.

"I'm fine." Anya stood up, not bothering the stinging of the wound.

"Yeah right," Hano rolled his hazel eyes, "Come on, Gu Lin should heal this."

"But Zu Ten-"

"Didn't arrive yet." Hano finished, "I told you already, your _'boyfriend'_ is coming soon. He isn't here."

"You never said _that_." Anya frowned.

"Did I? Oh well."

Anya didn't say anything else. She would have asked more questions, _where was Zu Ten now? When will he arrive? Where has he been? _but she was too preoccupied with her bleeding arm. She cringed as Hano touched it. She hated blood, it made her sick.

As they entered Gu Lin's house, he looked up with a frown.

"Another injury Anya? You really are careless." the old man shook his head. Anya sat on the usual stool and placed her arm on the table with a sigh.

"She fell and scrapped her arm." Hano explained.

"I can tell." Gu Lin mumbled. He was as old as stone and equally as wise. He was a Waterbender, of the Northern Water Tribe. He says he joined the air nomads when he met the love of his life, Sanira. But no matter how many people Anya has asked, nobody knew who this 'Sanira' was. Anya figured the old man made it up, out of loneliness. Ever since he's been the temple's healer.

Now he was a grumpy old man that drank way too much tea and played way too much Pai Sho. He would yell at children for eating his apples, argue at the market that the vegetables were too expensive, but deep down inside, Anya knew he had a heart. And ever since he adopted her, he had loved her like his own daughter.

"I thought Zu Ten was here..." Anya said. Gu Lin huffed as he slowly moved the glowing water over her arm.

"Why do you keep fawning over that Firebender?"

"He's my boyfriend Lin! And I haven't seen him in forever." she said.

"It's been two months Anya. Maybe he has forgotten about you."

"No." she stiffened, "No. Zu Ten would never forget me." Gu Lin stood up and walked over to the small sink in the kitchen, rinsing his hands.

Hano went to sit next to Anya. "You know we never thought Zu Ten was good for you."

"Why not?"

"He's a Firebender, Dalya. Some Firebenders aren't trustworthy."

"I trust Zu Ten."

The Waterbender sighed as if he was about to say something difficult. "I believe you shouldn't see him anymore."

Anya stayed speechless. This was the first time Gu Lin ever said something like that. She expected him to be happy for her, like he always was. He already was very proud of Anya, she had the capabilities to Airbend like a Master. But few have recognized her as that. They just saw her as Anya, adopted daughter of Gu Lin who's brother happened to be the Avatar.

"I'm sorry Anya." Hano said, "I have to agree."

Anya shook her head and stormed out of the house. She wasn't angry, just upset. Upset that Zu Ten wasn't here, that Hano and Gu Lin didn't like him, that he said he _wasn't trustworthy? _She couldn't believe it.

As she walked away from the houses and towards the temple again, her eyes wandered to the sky. What she saw made her stop in her tracks.

Instead of it's usual blue, the sky was red. _Red._

You'd think it would be a sunset, but it was morning.

Without any further thought, she gracefully spun round, creating a twirl of wind, projecting her into the air. She didn't have her glider so she made giant leaps from tree to rock to roof, anything to make it to the temple in time.

When she landed on the square all the monks were already outside, discussing their theories on the red sky. Anya ignored them all, looking for her brother. As she roamed the corridors she bumped into a worried looking man.

"Monk Gyatsu!" she stumbled but kept her balance. She didn't want to look like a fool in front of Aang's guardian.

"A-a-anya." he stuttered. He never stuttered.

She scrunched her brows. "Are you alright? You look pale."

The monk was breathing heavily now, waving a scroll in the air. With a quick hand twitched the scroll flew out of his hands and into Anya. She unrolled it and quickly read it. When she put it down she couldn't believe it.

Aang was gone.

"Where's my brother?!" she cried.

"I don't know Anya."

"How long has he been gone?"

"I only found this now, but the other monks knew of this before me."

Anya paced the small space while pulling on her braid. She stopped and turned to monk. "Do you think he left during the night?"

"Yes. And he didn't take much. Just his glider and Appa." Anya brought a hand to her head. He left on the sky bison.

"But there was a storm last night!" Anya yelled. She was now beyond worried. Where was Aang? Where was her brother? He was the only bit of family left and now he just ran away. And from what? Being the Avatar? He couldn't run away from his own faith, could he?

"Monk Gyatso," Anya said, stopping her pacing. She had to focus on the present, like Gu Lin told her too, "I came to talk to you about the sky."

"This is no time to ask questions about the sky Anya! We have to find the Avatar, before anything can happen to him." he started walking past her when Anya blocked him by placing a hand on his arm. She knew her brother too well to do anything. Aang rarely ran away from anything. Once, they found a porcupine beetle in the apple field. While Anya curiously observed it Aang had ran away from it, saying that it was going to attack him. After five minutes, he eventually came back.

"Trust me monk Gyatso, Aang will come back. He always does."

Just then the most piercing scream echoed around them. It sounded like a woman's, mixed with many others. Horrified expressions overcame both of their faces as they rushed outside the temple.

What they saw was something they had never expected.

At a minor distance of the temple, a row of ten or more air balloons were hovering above, the fire nation symbol painted on each and every one of them. But what was coming out of it scared Anya even more.

Fire was spilling out, hitting the ground below and burning everything in it's path. Anya could feel the heat of the fire up where she was, and it was far away.

"Is that the Fire nation?" Anya yelled at Gyatso. He had the same stunned expression.

He didn't answer thought. Gyatso sprinted down to the houses, where fire nation soldiers were attacking air nomads. Anya watched at first, not sure if she could react to anything. But then her mind focused on Gu Lin, and how he was down there, with no help whatsoever.

Finding an abandoned glider on the ground, she grabbed it and flew to her guardian. As she passed various houses that were already burning, she saw soldier after soldier kicking and swinging balls of flame into doors, windows and even to Anya's horror, people.

These Firebenders had no mercy. They were here to kill.

_But why?_

Why was the fire nation attacking them? Did they want war? Revenge? Why would they do this, why are they killing? And Aang, where was he? He's the Avatar, why isn't he here? _But he's still only twelve, _Anya thought, _and an idiot.__  
_

All these questions were ringing in Anya's head when she felt herself falling. She wondered why at first but when she saw a small flame at the corner of her eye, she knew she was going down. And down she went.

Fire is quick, it will burn everything in it's way as long as there is something to feed it. And Anya's glider was the perfect snack. She fell hard on the ground. She must've been a few feet high and the fact that she could have been on fire didn't leave time for Anya to make her landing more gentle. _But what goes down must come up, _Gu Lin had once said. And there was no doubt that this landed left a mark.

Gu Lin was coughing immensely. He stumbled over fallen furniture, trying to get out of the burning house. What once was his medical room was now in flames. He was extremely angry as he didn't get any time to save anything. But in situations like this, you can only save yourself. Despite everything, Gu Lin managed to pull water out of the air. It might be hot, dry, but where there is air, there is life, hense water. He splashed some in front of him and on himself. As a Waterbender he didn't like this heat, it was unbearable, but he still made it out in one piece.

Outside was the worst. What Gu Lin saw was not what he has expected. Bodies were lying on the cobble stone pavement. Lifeless bodies of people from everyday's life. Gu Lin recognized the vegetable merchant, his body stretched out, half burnt. He almost wanted to throw up. And then he saw her. Anya was running, an arm clutching the other, coming towards her. He wanted to tell her to leave, to run away, towards opposite direction but he couldn't. Partially because he knew she wouldn't listen and because the smoke was getting to him.

Suddenly a ball of flames hit Anya's bare side, sending her scrapping the floor again. She got up painfully, looking around for her attacker. A Firebender soldier appeared from the smoke and was coming closer to her. Anya punched, kicked and swirled wind at him, making him topple to the ground and get up just as quickly. He did the same with fire but Anya was too quick and agile. She jumped and dodged until she swiftly spinned, kicking with her boot the soldier's helmet off. Before she was going to give another blow, she froze at the sight of his face.

She was fighting Zu Ten. While she had a horrified look on her face, he was grimacing rabidly. He looked insane, his smile crooked, blood seeping from his lips.

"Zu Ten?"

He lashed out, sending Anya flying into a stone wall. The back of her head banged against it, giving her an instant headache.

How could Zu Ten be fighting her? How can that be? Anya felt anger building inside of her. So her boyfriend disapears for two months and he comes back like this?!

"I'm sorry Zu." Anya whispered. With a blink of an eye she was up on two feet, giving powerful blows hitting Zu Ten each time.

"Anya!" Gu Lin called just as Zu Ten collapsed on the floor.

"Gu Lin!" Anya yelled. She caught sight of him and forgetting Zu Ten, used her bending to clear a path. To her disgust she had also made a lifeless body fly to the side but that didn't matter. She had to bet to Gu Lin.

"You were right about Zu Ten, I shouldn't have trusted him-"

"That-wasn't Zu Ten- Anya." he said in between breaths.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"He wasn't the same-boy."

Anya fell silent for a split second before clearing the smoke around them again.

"Why are you here?" the old man yelled when she finished, "Go back! You foolish girl."

"There is no way I'm leaving you here." she wrapped his arm around her shoulders and dragged him to safety.

"Anya," Gu Lin said, "You have to listen to me for a minute."

"Lin this is a bad time."

"This is important Anya!" he said, frustrated now, "You have to find Hano after-"

"I have to find Aang." she said with such determination that Gu Lin knew arguing would buy him nothing. The news that Aang was missing spread quickly, quicker than this fire. And the fire around them was getting closer. Droplets of sweat were rolling off her forehead onto the ground. They didn't even et a chance to land, they just disappeared in steam.

Anya didn't drag Gu Lin far. There was a cave she discovered with Aang a long time ago. They used to play in it all the time, pretending dragons were in there and they had to dodge the flames. It's almost the same now, except that the flames are real and the dragons are Firebenders.

Anya settled Gu Lin down on a rock. He was panting and frantically looking in his arctic blue robes, in hope find something. Anya wanted to leave. She wanted to save someone, anyone but going out there was far too risky.

"Anya?" Gu Lin's voice made her approach him.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" she kneeled down in front of him, her grey eyes widening with concern.

"No, I have to give you something." Gu Lin said, sounding awfully calm despite everything happening outside.

He pulled put a brown satchel from under his robe, looking inside it before handing it to Anya, telling her to put it on. She did as she was told and watched her guardian.

"Remember that necklace I gave you when you were still a little girl?"

Out of instinct, Anya touched the round wooden amulet that hung looselt around her neck. It was carved with the Airbender symbol on one side and on the other was a flower that she never managed to identify. Whenever she would ask, Gu Lin would say that she would know in time.

"Of course I do, how could I not?" Anya said, sounding confused. She didn't understand why he was bringing this up now.

"It's very important-"

"I know."

The man heaved. "You listen to me now. You have to create a circle of air around you."

Anya blinked. "What?" a circle of air used up a lot of energy, and Anya felt exhausted.

"Create a circle of air around you. You've done it before, I've seen you. I've see you do many impossible things before."

Anya wasn't sure what Gu Lin was talking about but did what she was told. _Don't ask anymore stupid questions. Just do it and you'll understand later._

"Do you trust me Anya?" Gu Lin asked. By the way he said it it was almost desperate, like if she says no everything will go wrong.

"Yes." she breathed, the power of the circle slowly draining her.

"Good." and without any warning, Gu Lin pulled a very large amount of water, lunging it directly at Anya, freezing her immediately.

When she opened her eyes again, Anya was no longer in what she though was the cave. Instead she was gazing into two emerald-green eyes.

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**here we go, first chapter :) please review, and sorry about the really confusing updates, I has no idea how this thing worked until now :P**

**well i've come back and fixed my errors, though I really don't like this chapter...oh well, hope you still liked it.**


	2. Ice

**Here's chapter 2! Again, sorry for the very confusing updates, it was a messed up first attempt :P**

**And chapters will be longer. That was just a sort of "intro".**

**Oh and also, _VERY IMPORTANT NOTICE, _in the previous chapter I chose the name of Aang's sister being "Dalya". But before publishing it, I changed it to "Anya" (cause it sounds like Aang/Anya, yeah) but it looked like it didn't save it :/ so I re-wrote it and changed it back to "Anya".**

**So now the character is called ANYA :)**

**Okay, enjoy!**

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"Ouch. That hurt." Bolin rubbed his arm where Korra had previously punched him. She shrugged.

"You shouldn't have made fun of us then." she said. Bolin rolled his eyes and looked over to his brother. Mako was sitting on the snow, hugging himself for warmth. Despite being a Firebender and regulating his body temperature, he was freezing out here. Not to mention he didn't even have a proper coat.

"Mako!" he whined, "Tell your girlfriend to stop hurting me!"

Mako didn't bother doing anything. He had it coming, making fun of his and Korra's new relationship.

"Suck it up Bo," he said, pushing himself off the ground, "And be a man."

Bolin narrowed his eyes at his brother before walking away. He wasn't exactly happy. He had been the one who saw Korra first, he technically had all the dibs. But Mako just had to swoop in, making Korra fall for him instead, completely destroying the brother code.

_Brother betrayer, _Bolin thought.

But deep down inside, Bolin knew that Mako and Korra deserved being together. Plus, her being the Avatar and all, she needed someone like him.

_Suck it up Bo, and be a man. You'll find someone too, someday._

Korra watched as Bolin strutted away. She felt slightly bad about all of this. She never meant for any sort of rivalry between the brothers, but it still happened. And even so, Bolin forgave her, so did Mako and Asami. At first Asami was rather grumpy but she got use to it. If this is what made Mako happy, so be it. She wasn't going to ruin his happiness after all.

Mako wrapped his arms around Korra, placing his head on her shoulder. She immediately felt warmth surround her. "What's on your mind?"

"I'm just happy. Happy to bend all the elements, happy to be able to give bending back, and," she turned her head so her lips were brushing Mako's cheek, "Happy to be with you."

Mako smiled. "Yeah, so am I. It's great that everything is back within its balance. What happened before was horrible." he let go of her to stand in front, "Thank the spirits for the Avatar."

_The spirits, _Korra thought, _I should definitely thank the spirits. _Without Aang's appearance she would have never gotten her bending back. Then she wouldn't have been the Avatar, but just an Airbender. Althought that must have already been something, judging on how there are only five Airbenders left, including her. If Aang didn't come she couldn't have given back people's bending. And Korra couldn't imagine a world with no bending.

"Mako," she said hesitantly, "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I have to meditate. I owe Aang a thank you."

Mako nodded and she left.

Korra's hand roamed Naga's soft white fur before she kicked her side, making the polar bear dog run forward. Korra knew she could have just meditated where she was, but she didn't want to.

When one meditates, you have to be at peace, Tenzin had said every time she had tried. But each time there was always a distraction of any sort, whether it was Meelo's small body jumping on hers, or Ikki's rambling about everything, Korra's mind was never at ease. And staying where she was wasn't going to be better.

The wind blew harshly in her dark hair, but she didn't mind. Korra missed the cold, and this was the only time in weeks that she had been on ice, real ice. Back at the air temple island there was some frost, but that didn't count in the slightest. Korra was from the Northern Water Tribe, over there they'd spent their days on glaciers, picking around the ice or fishing.

But it wasn't all that boring. Korra was told at a very young age that she was the Avatar by the Order of the White Lotus. But she had guessed it long before that. She already knew she was a Waterbender after a small fishing trip. When Korra was five, her father had brought her canoeing. He was fishing and Korra wanted to try as well, but she was too small to handle it. Her father said the hook would cut her and hurt her. But arguing was useless, her father was too protective of her. Korra pouted at first, before getting angry. She angrily waved her arms in the air, letting out little girlish grunts when she unintentionally Waterbended, making a huge wave crash down at the canoe. It swept them right off of it, into the water. As they paddled in the freezing sea, Korra's father knew then and there that she was Aang's reincarnation. He didn't need to see her bend the other elements to believe it, no Waterbender could bend that big of a wave at their very first attempt. And as Korra grew older, she was trained by all the strongest masters that would offer their services. Days were either hardworking or boring, either way leaving her no choice but to work to her extreme limit. It would drain her so much that sometimes Korra fell asleep the minute she would place her head on the pillow on her bed at the end of the day.

She actually preferred picking at ice to that.

Naga had come to a sudden stop, making Korra almost topple off.

"Naga," she huffed, "What's wrong, girl?"

Naga kept her head down, sniffing the ice. With a sigh, Korra jumped off of her, her boots making a crunch when landing on the ice. Korra looked around, noticing the large space around her. They were in an ice field. There were a few rocks in the distance and further by her right, the sea. Naga started walking towards the salt water, her head still sniffing the ground. Korra had no choice but to follow her the animal.

She sat on a pile of ice, legs crossed. She was about a meter or two above the normal ice level, the water running at a slow pace in front of her. Korra placed both of her hands on her knees and took a deep breath.

Clearing her mind, Korra focused on contacting the spirit world. Surprisingly, it wasn't that hard. Usually, whenever she'd meditate, she would always lose focus with a thought that would pop in her mind. But now, she was peace. _Must come with the Airbending_, Korra thought.

Soon, Korra opened her eyes to what looked exactly the same. She was still sitting on ice, the water swishing below her and Naga curiously scratching the floor. Grunting, she stood up, thinking it hadn't worked.

"Come on Naga," she called out, "Let's go." The polar bear dog didn't move.

"Naga." Korra grunted once more, walking over to the animal, "Come on girl, let's go back!" She hopped on Naga's soft white back, kicking her in the shin to make her move. Naga looked up, then down again, walking in a complete different direction as if she didn't even acknowledge Korra's presence.

"Naga?" Jumping off, Korra stood in front of her pet, putting her hands under her chin, lifting it up to look into her eyes, but she couldn't. Korra tried pulling it up woth all her force, Naga would't even flinch. It was as if Naga couldn't see, feel or hear Korra at all. She strutted off onto the snow, continuously sniffing and scratching at the ground.

Korra didn't understand. Why wasn't Naga listening to her? Did the animal even know she was there? What was going on?

"Korra," a voice called from behind. Leaving her thoughts Korra whipped round to see one man she was trying to catch the attention off.

"Avatar Aang." She said in awe, "What happened?"

"You have entered the Spirit World, Korra."

Korra tried remembering what the Spirit World was, but she could only dig out that Katara mentioned it once or twice. It was during healing courses, she had said Aang would travel from the Spirit World to one she was in. But Katara had never explained _how _and _what_ the Spirit World was.

"The Spirit World is a parallel plane of reality." Aang says, as if reading Korra's mind. With a nod, he started walking, making Korra walk with him. "It has many realm. Only the Avatar can enter this world when being in the Avatar state, although some benders have passed before."

"That means I'm in the Avatar state right now?" Korra asks. Aang nods and points to Korra's sitting form, still perched on the ice. Her eyes were of a glowing bluish white that looked frightening, but she seemed calm.

"The Spirit World is the home to all spirits, including all the past lives of the Avatar." Aang explains, "There are spirits who symbolize aspects of life and nature, some of death. Most are harmless but some are still dangerous."

"I wanted to thank you." Korra said, standing in front of Aang to make him stop walking. "For giving me back my bending. Without it I don't know what I could have done. I wouldn't be the Avatar anymore." she bowed politely, a fist in the palm of her right hand.

"You never lost your bending, Korra."

The young girl looked up, surprised. "What do you mean?"

"Amon never took away your bending. He had just blocked it inside of you, making it out of reach from your body. But it never left." Aang began walking again, "Long ago, I ended the hundred year war by taking away Fure Lord Ozai's bending. But the truth is, I never did. His Firebending had never been gone. The man could get it back himself, if he was worthy of it."

"Why didn't he?"

"It's more of why _couldn't _he, Korra." Aang corrected, "Ozai couldn't reach his spiritual side so his bending was out of reach. Only those who are pure can see the beneficial of bending. All Ozai wanted was to use his Firebending against others." Aang paused, "Which is why I blocked it out of his system."

"Is it because I'm the Avatar that I can give bending back?" Korra asked.

"Well," Aang seemed hesitant, "Yes and no. You are the Avatar but that doesn't mean you're not pure. You can be selfish and naive very easily."

"Is that why benders can't get their bending back themselves?" Korra said, "Because they're too, naive?"

Aang smiled. "Yes, and it is your duty as the Avatar to restore all bending to their rightful owner."

Korra frowned. Tenzin had explained it all to her. Once back in Republic City, Korra would have to give bending back to all those who have lost it. At first Korra wasn't too happy. Tenzin said they were leaving the South Pole in two weeks time, which, according to Korra was too long for a "break". But after many protests, Katara had insisted they stayed longer. Korra's parents missed her and Katara had a new healing trick to teach her.

"So..." Korra spoke after a few minutes of silent walking. She found it awkward walking alongside her past live but didn't really mind. From what she's heard of Katara, Aang was a cheerful, honorable and generous man. But it still felt weird. "The Spirit World is...weird, isn't it?"

"To be honest," Aang answered, "I've seen weirder. There are creatures here that you'd never expect to see."

"Are those the dangerous ones you were talking about?" Korra asked, referring to earlier.

"No, like I said they're mostly harmless. They attack only when they feel in danger."

Korra swallowed. The last thing she wanted now was some ferocious spirit creature attacking her to eat her guts. But Aang said they were harmless, right?

"Do all spirits reside here?"

"Every single one." Aang said, giving a sad smile. At first Korra wondered why if was sad. Then she remembered; Aang's past wasn't the happiest. He was the last Airbender and waking up to find everyone you once knew gone should have been the hardest thing in the world.

_At least he's reunited with them, _Korra thought.

"It must be nice to see everyone again."

"It is." Aang smiled.

"Have you seen them all?" Korra said softly. Aang didn't have to ask to know what she was talking about. His family.

Aang seemed hesitant. "Yes, but..." he drifted off, as if lost in thought.

"But what?" Korra insisted.

Aang sighed. "I've seen many spirits ever since I've past. My parents, Katara's parents, monk Gyatzu and all the monks from the temple, as well as all my friends."

"Then what's wrong?"

"There's this one person I haven't managed to find. I've looked everywhere, in every realm. I've asked every spirit I've ever crossed but I can't find her." Aang said in a frustrated manner. His brows were scrunched together, his fists clenched and his eyes looked as if they were staring elsewhere.

Korra's eyes grew curious as she stook a step closer to her past life. "Who is _she?" _

Aang let out another sigh before closing his eyes. His lips parted just to slip out a small whisper. "_My sister._"

Korra froze shocked. His _sister_? Avatar Aang had a sister?!

"Her name was Anya." Aang spoke quietly. "She's-she looks just like me when I was twelve, except maybe older." He looked away, pained. "Anya was seventeen then."

_Just like me, _Korra thought. She couldn't believe it. In her entire life she had studied on her past lives in school and never has she ever heard of Avatar Aang having a sister. Especially because Aang's story was the most interesting, Korra ad spent the most attention to in class. But no one has ever mentioned an _Anya _to exist.

"No one has told me about her."

"I haven't told anyone about her but Katara, not even my own children." Aang answered. He suddenly looked horrible, even for a spirit. Korra felt a pang of guilt travel through her.

"But if you can't find Anya in the Spirit World," Korra said, "Where could she be?"

"This is where I'm not sure," Aang said, thoughtful. He sat on the ice, crossing his legs and placing his head in his hands. He almost looked childish sitting like that, half pouting, half upset, that Korra wanted to laugh. But this was no laughing matter so she kept her mouth shut and stood silently in front of him, waiting for him to speak. "When someone dies, their spirit travels to the Spirit World, where it resides forever. But Anya's spirit is nowhere to be found."

"Then," Korra said, her gloved hand touching her chin, "Anya's spirit never came here."

"But that's impossible!" Aang angrily threw his head back, "The air nomads were swiped out a hundred and seventy years ago, Anya being amongst them. She has to be here somewhere."

_But if she isn't here, _Korra thought, _if her spirit was never in the Spirit World, that could only mean..._

Korra blurted it out that Aang was taken aback, making his grey eyes widen immensely. "She's alive."

* * *

Korra walked slowly throught the icy passage ways, Naga closely besides her. She had a hand on her neck, slowly stroking it and also to hold her weight up. It was dark outside and Korra could already see the few stars lighting up the night's sky.

She hadn't a clue how long se had been in the Spirit World. When she had left the city it was still day, the sun shinning high in the sky. She didn't know how long she was talking to Aang, talking about his sister. He had given Korra her perfect description, nailing every detail from the exact shade of grey her eyes were to which tone her laugh was.

_Anya. _A girl whom nobody knows about has, according to Aang, survived during a hundred and seventy years. Korra thought it couldn't be true. Aang reminded her he had survived for a hundred years frozen in ice. Korra had rolled her eye and said that no one could live for that long.

_"Unless you're frozen in ice." _Aang had said.

Korra rolled her eyes again. Their argument was dumb but their motive was clear. And after all that, their conclusion was simple._ Anya is alive and needs to be found._

All Korra had to do now was to convince Tenzin his father had a sister he never knew about and that she was alive, somehow frozen in alive during a hundred and seventy years. And that was something Korra knew was going to be impossible. But she had to try. If Anya has survive this long, who knows if she could still live any longer? She might die sooner or later, and Aang had begged Korra to find her. Of course, she had to accept. Being in the Spirit World, Aang took the appearance of himself when he was a twelve year old boy, clinging himself to her leg. When Korra had asked why he changed he said it would help him whenever he wanted things to be done.

_"Please, please, please, please, please?" _Aang batted his eyelashes, making Korra laugh, _"As the Avatar, you have to help people. So you have to help me. Please Korra." _Aang let go of her leg, shifting back to his elder self, _"Please find my sister."_

Korra walked up the few steps, leaving Naga behind. The polar bear dog simply lied down in front of the building, soon about to fall asleep. She slowly opened the wooden doors, making it open with a painful creaking sound. Korra peered in the room, noticing no one. With a sigh of relief, Korra closed the door, walking towards the big staircase to go to her room. To be honest, Korra was exhausted. All she wanted to do was sleep.

"Korra!" A piercing shriek bounced around the icy walls, "Korra you're back!"

Korra turned around to see Ikki speeding down the hallway towards her, in a small air scooter. Even thought it was late at night, Ikki had a bright smile on her face.

"Where were you?" She asked, hoping off the air ball to give her a tight hug, "Tenzin was worried and Katara was worried and Mako was worried and everyone was worried and you missed dinner and we had those dumplings you like so much and Meelo ate your share-"

"Okay! Ikki," Korra laughed awkwardly, pushing the little Airbender off of her. "I was out meditating. Didn't Mako say so?"

Ikki looked thoughtful for two seconds before slapping her forehead, letting out a small girlish laugh. "Oh right! I completely forgot!"

"Ikki?" Tenzin's clear voice echoed around, "Why aren't you in bed?" When he noticed Korra, worry flashed accross his face, making Korra sigh.

"I was meditating!" she grumbled, rubbing her left eye. She was beginning to feel drowsy.

"I know." Tenzin spoke calmly, much like Aang, "But what took you so long? We were worried."

"I guess I lost track of time when I was talking to Aang," Korra mumbled, fighting back a yawn. Tenzin suddenly looked alarmed.

"You were talking to my father? How?"

"I went to the Spirit World. It wasn't interesting thought, it looks exactly the same." Korra scratched her head, "Except that everyone there is dead, so...yeah."

Tenzin blinked a few times, surprised. The only person he knew that had entered the Spirit World was his father Aang, and that was because he was the Avatar. Tenzin had tried a lot of times to enter the world, but he couldn't. He never understood how but he was still determined to make it one day.

"What did you talk about?" he asked.

Korra's mind suddenly became alive again, like a switch being flicked on again. "Oh yeah!" she said, slapping her forehead like Ikki did, "There's something very important I have to tell you."

"Ooh what is it? Is it a surprise? Is it? Is it a surprise Korra?" Ikki bounced up and down, making Tenzin sigh.

"Ikki, go to sleep. Korra," he looked up at the young Avatar, "We'll talk about this tomorrow."

Korra was going to complain that it was too important to wait til tomorrow but she knew that if she stayed up a little longer, she would be blabbering nonsense. Korra nodded, patting Ikki on the head twice as if she was dog, nodded at Tenzinf and walked straight to her room. She collapsed on her animal skin covered bed, not even bothering to remove her coat and fell asleep immediately.

_Tomorrow will be the day I'll search for Anya, _Korra thought sleepily, _don't worry Aang, I'll find her._

* * *

"What."

Korra huffed for what seemed like the millionth time this morning. They were all seated at a wooden table, eating breakfast. Tenzin had dropped his spoon, gaping at Korra while Bolin was coughing heavily, Mako patting his back.

"It's true." Korra said, "She's alive, somewhere out there."

"But that's crazy!" Bolin exclaimed. Korra shot him a glare. "No one has ever heard of Avatar Aang having a sister!"

"Bolin is right, Korra." Mako reasoned, "She might not even exist."

"But Aang told me in person that she's real!" Korra stood up, now frustrated, "Are you saying Aang is lying?"

"My father doesn't lie." Tenzin said.

"It would have been nice to meet grandpa." Jinora said, completely out of subject.

"I'm telling you she's alive!" Korra said.

"I believe Korra!" Ikki cried, lifting her hand up and smiling immensely.

"What's going on?" Meelo asked, slurping his noodles.

"Korra I would know if I had an aunt!" Tenzin said, slamming his palm on the table, silencing everybody's rambling. "But what you are saying makes no sense. Aang had never spoken about anyone named Anya. What you saw yesterday must've been an illusion, he would have told me."

"But Aang said he didn't tell anyone about Anya, not even his children." Korra said.

Tenzin stayed silent before turning to his mother. Katara didn't say a single word ever since Korra had explained the matter and was sitting quite still to Tenzin's taste. "Mother?" he asked quietly.

Katara looked up with her big blue eyes, as if lost in thought. She didn't say anything at first before letting out a long sigh. She looked at her son sadly, "Tenzin, I'm sorry. Your father and I have been keeping this secret for far too long, it's time you should know-"

"Wait-WHAT?!" Bolin yelled, "Anya is real? Seriously?" The old woman looked at the Earthbender annoyingly before turning back to her son.

"Korra is right, Tenzin." she said, much to Tenzin's surprise, "Anya does exist."

"AHA!" Korra jumped, "Told ya!"

Tenzin stared at his mother with bewilderment, not believing what his mother had just said. "How..." He was lost for words, "What...But father..._why?__"_

"Your father was very much crushed when he discovered what had happened to his people. He knew what death was and what it could do but he never expected it to affect him so much." Katara let out a long sigh, "Aang loved his sister a lot, Tenzin. Knowing that she was gone, killed by the Firenation was killing _him _in the inside as well."

"Is that why he never told us? Because he was too upset?" Tenzin asked. Katara nodded.

"Aang and I had decided it was best for you, Kya and Bumi to not know about your aunt. But now," Katara forced a smile, "you should know you have one."

Tenzin was still upset. He understood why Aang never told him about Anya, but he couldn't help the feeling of betrayal overcoming him. Sure, it shouldn't be such a big deal since he had never met his aunt but not knowing her existence was still bugging him. And now Korra comes along, saying that she travelled to the Spirit World, claiming to have talked to his father and that his aunt is alive. He had debated that Korra fell off of Naga while she was running, bumped her head on a piece of ice and dreamt it all. But Korra's level of honesty was too high and it was clear that she wasn't lying. All the more that makes it unbelievable.

"So what your saying is," Bolin said, pursing his lips and waving his chopsticks, "Tenzin here had or has an aunt he never knew about who is _alive _and is living in a block of ice somewhere and we have to find her before she _freezes _to death?"

Korra nodded when Asami cut in. "But how can she freeze to death when she's already frozen?"

"I know!" Meelo raised his hand, hopping on his seat, "Auntie Anya is using _magic!"_

Katara laughed heartily. "You sound like my brother." She reached for the youngest Airbender but he stood up, running away in a wink.

"I actually have no idea," Korra said, "I guess we'll have to ask her when we find her."

* * *

"How exactly are we suppose to find her?" Bolin asked for what seemed to Korra the hundredth time.

"We have to look in every cave, under every rock and along every river." Korra huffed. It has been three days since their search had begun and they found absolutely nothing. It wasn't easy, the South Pole was huge, many things were hidden underneath this ice. And even so, Anya might not be under the South Pole ice, but in the North Pole. And that's what worried Korra.

Korra and Tenzin had made sure this search stayed highly hidden from unwanted eyes. They didn't want anyone knowing that the late Avatar's sisters's body was in anyone's reach, scared that it would be sold on a black market of some sort. Only a few guards were aware of what was going on, and even so only Korra and her friends were actually looking for Anya.

"Korra." Mako's clear voice made her stop walking. He and Bolin were perched on Naga's back, who's head was still down on the ice. He had offered many times for Kirra to take his place but she refused each time. She needed full attention in order to find her, and riding on Naga wasn't going to get her any. "Korra we should head back for the day. It's getting late."

Korra's eyes drifted to the sky, where it's blue colour was turning into a yellowish sunset. "Already?"

"Yeah," Bolin jumped off of the polar bear dog, "It's late and I'm hungry. Plus we're pretty far from the city and it's going to take some time getting back."

Korra rolled her eyes before turning back. She knew searching at night was pointless; she tried it the first day and she couldn't see a thing, even with her Firebending. The reasonable solution was to go back.

"Alright," she said to Bolin, "Hop back on." She gestured Naga with a nod.

Bolin shook his head. "No thanks. I've been sitting on that thing for hours. My legs need a stretch. Pabu's also pretty heavy." he smiled, taking the fire feret off of him, placing him on the floor.

"Suit yourself." Korra shrugged, jumping onto her pet, nusling herself into Mako's arms. "Come on Naga, let's go home." Korra did her usual little kick in Naga's side, but instead of walking normally, the polar bear dog suddenly dashed forward, leaving Bolin behind.

"Wha-Hey!" He called, running after the animal, Pabu at his feet.

"Naga," Korra gasped, "Naga stop!" The polar bear dog didn't seem to listen to her master, running faster than before. Mako clutched onto Korra's waist who was hanging on to Naga's neck. At the speed they were going, they were sure to fall off.

Suddenly Bolin's scream made Naga's running cut short. Both Korra and Mako were flung off of Naga's back, into the cold snow. They got up laughing, shaking the snow on their coats and their hair.

"Hey," Mako said, "Where's Bolin?"

They looked around the ice field Naga had been running in and noticed in was empty. Korra stood up.

"We better find him."

"Bolin?" Mako called, cupping his mouth with his hands. The sky was getting darker now so he slid off a glove, stuffing it in the pocket of his coat. Mako held his palm out, a small ball of fire forming in it, lighting the small space around him.

"Good idea." Korra said, looking at him before mirroring his actions.

They didn't have to walk far to find Bolin. It was quite easy, in fact. One, he was in a vert large and very noticeable hole and two, he was yelling as if his life depended on it. Korra peered down at a flustered looking Bolin, asking him how on earth he had gotten down there.

"I was running and the ground just gave out!" The Earthbender said, gesturing at the fallen ice around him. It created a tall wall, making it harf for anyone to climb out.

"Well are ya hurt?" Mako asked. Bolin shook his head.

"But you wouldn't believe what I just found..." He said, eyes wide.

"That snow in your pants leaves a cold and uncomfortable feeling?" Korra smirked, making Maki snicker. Bolin rolled his eyes.

"Ha-ha, very funny guys." He said, "But no, you're gonna wanna come and see this."

Korra exchanged looks with Mako who simoly shrugged, before jumping into the hole. He landed with a thud, followed by Korra. Bolin pointed to a specific area in the ice and Korra gasped. There was a figure in the ice, arms stretched out in what looked like a fighting position. By the shape of the body you could tell it was feminine, but from the thickness of the ice you could only make out very little details about the person.

"Is that...?" Mako hesitated.

"I think it is." Bolin nodded. Korra approched the figure, touching the ice with her non-gloved hand. Feeling the cold she immediately lit it with a flame, making the ice melt quickly around her hand. Mako went to stand by her, immitating her. They didn't want to use big flames, afraid to burn the girl.

Suddenly a stream of air poured out of the small hole Mako was working on, making him burn the ice faster. Mako had come up to the point where he made contact with the girls' arm and he cringed at the touch of her icy cold skin.

"What is it?" Bolin asked.

"She's freezing."

Their process took a long time. When they had come up to the point where only a thin layer of ice was around the girl, they stopped Firebending, afraid to hurt the girl. With her Waterbending, Korra bended the remaining ice away, the girl immediately falling onto the ground. Bolin quickly dove under her, catching her before her head could hit the hard ground.

The girl stirred, shivering a little before very slowly, opened her eyes. They were grey. Not one of those dull shades of grey, but a lighter, almost metallic kind. One that was sparkling in any way. Her eyes slowly took a moment to adjust to the light (which was poorly lit by Mako's bending) before locking themselves with Bolin's. Her brows curiously scrunched themselves together, as if she was thinking really hard.

Bolin blinked a few time, Korra letting out another small gasp behind him.

_"Anya?"_

* * *

**Yayy chappie 2 is done! Woah it's much longer than I thought it'd be! Eh, it's better, I guess. **

**Thanks for reading and please review! I'll always answer them :)**


	3. Impossible

**chapter 3 :)**

**Alright so, I'm just gonna point out that some things in here are quite cartoonish since I pretty much picture all the characters exactly like they are in the cartoon. But for Anya, as she never existed in the A:TLA or LoK, you can think of her as a mix of Ty Lee and Aang combined (Ty Lee for her facial structure [ish, much less chubby], long braid and body [hehe] and Aang for the eyes, complexion and hair color).**

**That said, enjoy!**

* * *

Anya couldn't tell whether she was dreaming or not. She had seen green eyes before, just never up close. She never imagined it could be _so green._

"Huh?" Bolin his eyebrows together, confused. At first Anya didn't know what he meant, until she figured out she had said that out loud. Grunting, she pushed herself away from him, feeling disturbed to be so close to someone she didn't know. She sat on the ice, only a few centimeters from Bolin, who was looking back at his brother in astonishment.

"I need to ask you something." She said. Her voice was rough at first, as if she hadn't spoken in a very long time. Anya touched her neck, as if it were burning her. _Why is it hurting me_? Many questions were flowing through mind as her eyes wandered over the scenery. _Why is there snow? Is this one of the Poles? Who are you?  
_

"What is it?" He asked, inching closer. Anya didn't move this time.

She swallowed hard. Out of the million questions running through her mind, a stupid one left her mouth. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?"

Now why would Anya say that? Quite simple, really. When she was thirteen, Aang being a little eight year old, the Air nomads of the their temple decided to travel to the North Pole. They wanted to visit the Spirit Oasis, something every highly spirited person had longed to do. After that they'd travel to the Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and so on. Anya wasn't suppose to go, her not being a monk, but as they were packing Aang had smuggled her in a large bag on the sky bison. It wasn't long until was discovered but Aang had begged the monks to let her stay and, who could resist a little eight year old Aang? As they landed in the North Pole Anya knew she disliked ice. She was as eager and excited as her little brother and flew off the sky bison in such a rush, she landed roughly on the snow. She had a big blue bruise on her knee afterwards. And then there was the wind; the cold, harsh wind that hit her face like a million knives. But it didn't stop her from having fun and the minute after she discovered a herd of penguins, she had asked Aang to go with her.

And that was the first thing that had popped into her mind upon seeing the snow. A memory, a happy one.

"What?" Bolin asked. Anya snapped out of her bubble to look up at the Earthbender. He was standing now, besides two other people she didn't notice before. One was a tall, handsome boy with flaming gold eyes and pale skin; a Firebender to Anya. She had been to the Fire Nation,all the Firebenders she had met had either flaming gold eyes or glistening grey and hazel eyes.. Non-benders had the same, just less _alive._ Or so she believed.

The other was a girl with ocean blue eyes, dark hair and tanned skin, wearing Water Tribe clothes. Anya recognized it from the fluffy fur the sleeves were coating. It was one of the many things she actually liked about the Poles. The girl was very pretty and seemed at a very to the Firebender as she was gripping onto his coat with her glove.

"Nevermind." Anya stood up from the ground, dusting off the snow from her pants.

Korra stepped forward. "Are you okay?"

"I think so." Anya said. She frowned and brought a hand up to head where she felt a sudden pain. "What's going on here?"

"It's a long story," Mako scratched his head, "But I guess we could explain it on the way back."

"Back where?" Anya asked, furrowing her brows, "And- how did I get in this hole?"

Mako and Korra looked at Bolin, who raised his hands in defense. "Hey," he said, "I wasn't the crazy polar bear dog who decided to dash off. Don't blame me for falling!"

Anya looked at the three weirdly. The boy who just spoke looked a lot like the fire eyed boy, same skin but different eyes. He looked like...an Earthbender, or at least a citizen from the Earth Kingdom.

"What are your names?" She asked. These three were planning on taking her back to wherever they were going and she didn't even know who they were.

"Oh," the girl stepped forward, "I'm Korra. This is Mako and his brother, Bolin." They both raised a hand in recognition of their names.

"And I'm A...a...achoo!" The girl sneezed, and shot up into the air. She hurtled back moments later, and still landed lightly on her feet, gazing at them. "I'm Anya." She wiped her nose, sniffing.

"You just sneezed," Bolin began, "And flew ten feet in the air."

"Really?" Anya asked, turning around, "It felt higher than that."

"Bolin," Korra frowned at him, "You've been on air temple island plenty of times and you're staying there now. How is this a surprise?"

"Hey I don't see _you_ train all the time, much lesser Tenzin or the kids. This is kind of new to me."

"You're an Airbender?" Anya asked Korra, whose eyes grew wide. She glared at Bolin who hid behind Mako, realizing his mistake. Korra couldn't tell her she was the Avatar now, no way. Anya would think she was crazy, saying that the Avatar was her brother and then they'll have to explain everything to her: the genocide, the Air nomads' extinction, Aang defeating Fire Lord Ozai and worst of all, Aang's death. She would be crushed, right there and now, and there was nothing worse than dragging a crying girl all the way back to the city. Not to mention she could run away at any moment...

"That doesn't matter right now," Mako stepped in, saving the both of them, "What matters now is that you get back to safety to the city."

"We're in one of the Poles, aren't we?" Anya asked, looking around, "That's why I blurted out the whole penguin thing..."

Bolin let out an understanding sound and Mako lit a flame in the palm of his hand, bringing it around the large hole, confirming Anya's suspicion.

"We can climb out," He said, "I won't be too hard, we'll just have to climb on each other's backs and then pull ourselves out."

"Right, or," Anya flew out of the hole by waving her hands, creating small gusts of air, "We could just fly out."

Mako rolled his eyes. "Or we could just do that."

"Um, problem!" Bolin raised a gloved hand, "We're not Airbenders."

Anya ignored his comment and with a wave if her hand, sent a torrent of air down to him, lifting him out of the hole and onto the ice next to her. She did the same with Mako but Korra preferred bending her way out with water.

"What's _that?_" Anya pointed.

"That is Naga. She's my polar bear dog." Korra pet the creature, who wagged her tail happily. _So that's a polar bear dog_, Anya thought. She touched her soft white fur, suddenly feeling cold. She looked down at her outfit, realizing she wasn't dressed for this weather at all. All she was wearing was a yellow shirt that went halfway down her stomach as it was summer, and summer was always hot in the temple, an orange caplet with the yellow collar of her shirt sticking out. She wore the usual double-layered pants with brown underneath and a loose yellow layer on top, an orange sash going along her hip line, as well as high brown boots that reach just below her knees. And what made it curious is that the hem of her shirt was slightly _burned. _It was no outfit to wear in the snow. And that's what made Anya think, _how did she even get here?_

She tried remembering the latest events but all she could think off was her guardian frowning down at her and waving a sponge in his hand. Why was he frowning? She had no idea. Why was there a sponge in his hand? She didn't know. And why was her shirt burned? Another question to add to her list.

"Here, catch!" Bolin threw a thick blanket at her. Anya wrapped it around herself, smiling as she felt a little warmer.

"Where are you taking me?" Anya asked, after the three of them were mounted up on Naga's back.

Korra looked, smiling at her. "To the Northern Water Tribe. There are some people who are waiting to see you."

Anya's smile grew bigger. "Really? Who?"

"Hop on and you'll know." Bolin patted the seat behind him. Anya quickly hurtled onto the polar bear dog, sitting behind Bolin. A furry little head suddenly popped up from his shouder, starring at Anya curiously. It's fur was of an orangy-red and had small white stains on his face, as well as a white stripe on the tip of its long tail.

"Is that a fire ferret?" Anya asked, scratching the animal's little head.

"Yeah," Bolin turned to lift the creature off his shoulder as it let out a satisfying purr, "This is Pabu. Isn't he just adorable?"

Anya giggled at the love its master was giving him. "Quite." The ferret jumped off of Bolin and onto Anya's lap, rubbing itself along her stomach. Anya was surprised by the warmth she felt at its touch and picked up Pabu to hug him. "He's so warm."

"Well yeah, he's a fire ferret." Bolin explained, "They generate heat in their bodies, like Mako. He's a Firebender, but I think you already knew that."

Anya nodded. "I guessed it by his eyes."

Bolin smirked, "His eyes?"

"He has gold eyes, almost fire lit. Firebenders have that, right?" She said, petting Pabu who had cuddled up to her.

"Oh, yeah, they do." Bolin said, looking down at his pet, "And what do you think I am?"

Anya looked straight into his eyes for a few seconds. Once again, she admired the intensity of colors it had, like different shades of green swirled up in one. It wasn't the regular green she saw in most Earth Kingdom citizens, but another one, filled with more passion. A benders' eyes. "Earthbender," She finally said, "Definitely."

"Alright!" Korra called from the front, "Grab on!"

"You better hold on to me." Bolin said, turning back around and gripping his brother, "It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

"I'm okay." Anya shrugged. But the minute Naga started running Anya nearly flew off. She held onto Bolin's waist for dear life, making him chuckle all the way back.

* * *

You know that feeling when you're frowning during a happy event and everybody would ask you what's wrong, and no matter how many times you say you're fine they won't stop bugging you? That's exactly how Anya felt at the moment.

Naga had just barely stopped in front of a big ice building that a dozen people rushed out, going to Anya's sides. They were asking her millions of questions, too quickly for her to answer any of them. Once off of the polar bear dog she was dragged into the building, through hallways, all the way into a room where they set her on a bed, tucking in her legs leaving her sitting up against the headboard. Anya didn't defend herself in any way, she wasn't feeling too well after Naga's run. She preferred flying to running and this made her feel slightly sick.

There were what she thought were nurses around the bed, staring at Anya like she was a rabid animal about to pounce, and any movement was crucial for their survival.

A man Anya identified as a monk because of his blue tattoos and orange clothing was standing the closest to her, staring deeply into her eyes. Anya felt like shrinking, the man was so concentrated in looking at her it was like he was looking into her soul.

"What's going on?" Anya finally asked, feeling disturbed by all the unwanted attention.

"How are you dear?" An old woman asked her. Anya didn't notice her before. She was standing at the opposite side of the monk, a few feet away from all the nurses. She had a gentle smile and eyes that seemed to shine with energy. Anya felt an immediate liking for her.

"I'm fine!" Anya protested.

"Aren't you tired?" the monk asked. Anya shook her head meaning that she wasn't. "Hungry?"

Anya put a hand on her stomach. "Actually, I'm starving. It's like I haven't eaten in ages!" She giggled but no one in the room even cracked a smile. Except for the nice old lady. The monk turned to talk to the nurses and moments later, they all scattered out of the room, leaving him, the old lady and Anya alone. Only now she noticed a girl sitting on a bench in the back of the room. She stood up as Anya caught sight of her, walking over to sit on a chair that was next to the old lady.

She was beautiful to Anya. About eighteen, she had long wavy black hair that ran down her back and pale skin. Her eyes were of a greenish yellow, almost apple green. Her lips were coated red and she wore rather dull colors to Anya. But she was a girl who has probably never known not having attention from men. That was obvious.

A nurse opened the door again, letting in another one who was carrying a tray filled of various dishes. The only thing Anya recognized was a bowl of green noodles as it was jet favorite Water Tribe grub from when she was here.

"So," Anya said after the tray was placed on her lap, and the nurse out of the room, "Will anyone tell me what happened?" _And by what happened I mean frozen in ice, taken by complete strangers then treated like a princess all while I don't remember a thing?_

"Why don't you eat first, then maybe-" The monk started to reason but Anya had enough. With one quick movement the tray flew off the bed and onto the wall, the food splattering everywhere on the ice. The blanket unded up on top of the old lady, Anya on her feet glaring at them all.

"No!" she cried, "No I will not eat, rest, or do whatever you tell me to do because _I don't know you!_ I have no idea who you are and why I'm here, I don't know how I end up in the ice or why! Now you can either tell me what's going on or I'll leave!"

In all the commotion Anya didn't even realize she was bending. She was yelling with such force that her eyes were closed, and when she opened them she discovered the furniture in the room to be scattered around, some wooden ones even broken, the girl's hair in a wild fashion and the monk's robes on top of him. They all had scared looks on their faces, especially the girl who was clinging on the chair, as if to not fall off. Only the old lady was chuckling happily, rearranging her white hair.

"Did-did I do this?" Anya asked, eyes wide. The old lady stood up from her spot, hobbling over to Anya, smiling brightly.

"You," she said, poking her nose with a long bony finger as she pointed, probably by accident, "Are exactly like your brother."

Anya's confused and angry face relaxed a bit. "My brother?"

"Yes, yes," she nodded to herself, circling Anya like a hawk, "Same hair, slight chubbiness, long lashes," she lifted part of her hair from the side of her head, "Same large ears," Anya flicked her hand away, "Same stubborness." The woman laughed. She walked to stand directly in front of Anya, taking her head in her hands and pulling it down to be at her eye level. "And your eyes," she gazed into them, like she was lost in a dream, "Those same, perfect eyes. I could never tell what they were. In a light they'd seem grey. In others they would shine like a light reflecting off metal."

"They're just grey." Anya dully replied, "How do you know my brother so well? Were you here when we visited the North Pole four years ago? I don't remember you, and I met _a lot_ of people then."

"And the same eagerness, I see," The woman dropped her hands to let out a sigh. She looked at the monk and the girl. "You know we have to tell her."

"Tell me what?" Anya asked.

"But what if she takes it wrong?" The girk asked.

"We already know she will." Tenzin grunted, "Do we have too _now?_" he addressed the woman.

She out her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes at Tenzin. He immediately shrunk in his seat, making Anya giggle. "Tenzin," she said, "You know that she will find out eventually. And I think it'll be better coming from me."

"Tell me _what?_" Anya insisted once more. The woman took Anya's hand, guiding her to sit on the bed besides her.

"Well," She began, First off, you should know who we are." She pointed to the monk, "That is my son, Tenzin. She's Asami." She pointed to the girl who nodded.

"And you are?"

"Katara."

"Huh," Anya tilted her head, "Ka-tar-uh." She looked thoughtful for a moment, "It's a pretty name, I like it."

"And I'm Aang's wife."

Anya blinked a couple times, not sure if she got that. "I'm sorry, _what_?"

Katara repeated what she had just said, Anya staring at her like she was crazy. _Aangs' wife?_

"But you're _old!_" Anya blurts her thought out-loud, covering her mouth. Tenzin sent a glare her way but Katara lifted a hand up, making him look elsewhere.

"This might be hard to believe, but I really am married to your brother."

Anya looked at the woman. Somewhere in her expression, Anya read honesty. A very, very hard unbelievable honesty Anya would've never had thought of. Her twelve year old brother...marrying a, what? ninety year old lady? Yes, very hard to believe but somehow true.

"If what you're saying is true," Anya said, standing up from the bed, "Where is Aang?"

This time Katara was silent, as if debating on a thought. Which she was. Anya looked at Tenzin who's face read no expression. Asami on the other hand gave a smile. A sad smile.

Anya frowned. "Where's Aang?"

"My father has past." Tenzin spoke up. Anya froze. _Father? _Aang and this old lady... Anya shook her head.

"What do you mean, _past?"_ she asked, stepping further away from Katara. Past as in, past by? Or, or the unthinkable, past as in _gone? _

"Aang was a brave man Anya, he made so many changes to this world you couldn't think of-"

"_Man?!" _Anya said, "Aang is twelve!"

"Anya do you know how long you've been in that ice?" Tenzin's clear voice made her look at him. He now had a concerned expression and was standing up.

"A few days maybe, I- I don't know." She said.

"I think it was more of a few _years, _Anya," Asami said, on her feet as well.

"Years?"

"A hundred and seventy years, to be exact." Tenzin pipped in. Anya looked at him in disbelief.

"That's impossible. I would be dead! You're all crazy!" Anya shouted, backing away from them. Everything was spinning in Anya's head. Aang being married? Aang having a child? Aang dying? And her, in an iceberg for a hundred and seventy years? It was impossible, she should gave died.

"Don't you remember anything? Anything at all?" Katara asked.

"No-" Anya bumped into a cupboard behind her, making whatever was on it fall on the ground. A glass lantern shattered on the ice, the pieces scaterring around Anya's feet. The fire once captured in it was slowly burning on the animal skin carpet. Tenzin made a move to extinguish it, but Katara stopped him. Anya was staring at the flame, observing the way it spread and burned quickly. And the glass, broken into small fragments, everywhere. It reminded her of something, something unwanted and...unhappy.

Suddenly Anya heard screaming. Her head shot up and to her surprise, none of the three individuals had moved. The screams got louder and frightening. It was a mix of women and men, even children. As Anya's eyes looked back at the fire, the memory came back. She suddenly saw herself flying on that burning glider, watching and hearing the scene below. The fire scorching and burning the few houses in an mater of minutes, destroying everything. Destroying and _killing_ everything.

Anya closed her eyes and when she opened them again she saw that the fire was gone but her eyes were blurry. She looked up to see Asami sadly looking at her, Tenzin looking elsewhere as if to avoid her gaze and Katara slowly walking to her. She opened her arms and Anya immediately rushed into them. Everything came back to her, absolutely everything. Things she wanted to forget but knew they never will be forgotten.

"I'm sorry," Katara whispered in her ear. Anya didn't listen. She pushed herself off the woman, tears running down her cheeks.

"No," she sobbed, bringing her hands to her face, "No, this isn't happening..."

"Anya-"

"This can't be happening..."

"Listen-"

"No!" she yelled and dashed out of the door. Tenzin wanted to run after her but Katara stopped him once more. Both her and Asami knew it was pointless. Anya needed some time alone, no way was she going to co-operate now.

She ran throught the icy hallways, not even knowing where she was going, and this reminding her of the air temple, she cried even harder. Her stomach was hurting her from the lack of food and the speed of which she was running since she used a bit of bending, running faster than average and her head was still spinning.

Her body suddenly collided with someone elses', making them both fly back a few feet.

"Anya?" Bolin called, rubbing his head. He searched the poorly illuminated hallway, seeing Anya a little further than he had expected. She wasn't moving and this got abolin worried.

Anya had flown too far, her head hitting the ice wall which was, mind you, very, very hard. She only had the time to see him rushing towards her before closing her eyes.

* * *

**Well, they found her! I'm not really proud of this chapter, I think I repeated some thing too many times... But nothing's perfect, right?**

**Reviews are appreciated!**

**PS: who's seen the Hobbit? It's amazing :O**


	4. Penguins

**Whoops. I haven't updated in forever. Well, sorry, but here it is! Chapter 4 :D**

**So I was thinking a lot...and I don't want this story to be the cliché lovey-dovey and only bending type. So there's gonna be something different that I'll add to this story :) If you watch and stalk LoK, you would know that the second season is about spirits, as the book is called "Spirits" according to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko. It kind of fits in the story...****You'll see :)**

* * *

Mako was bored. It has been almost two weeks since they arrived at the South Pole and he impatiently waited for the day they'll leave. He was a Firebender, he dreaded this snow. Everyday he was dragged out of the hut he and his brother stayed in by Korra, into the cold snow. He would've objected, made up an excuse but he couldn't. It was Korra, and for her he'd do anything. Even if it meant slowly freezing to death.

Now they were walking in town, passing many merchants, the smell of fish high in the air. Mako hated this smell, and it was the only smell in the South Pole. Unless you counted salt water. He brought his hand up to his face, covering his nose with his glove.

"What's wrong?" Korra asked, glancing sideways. She, however, loved being back to the Poles. She was born and raised in the snow, she cherished every moment of it all. Whether it was a blizzard or a snow day, salty wind or hail falling from the sky, it made Korra happy. But seeing Mako disliking it all was upsetting. They had just recently gotten together and seeing him scrunching his nose at every scent, sneezing every two minutes, it was making her upset as well. Usually Mako would heat his body temperature, but being in the snow so long she doesn't think it has any effect. It won't be long until he'll be sick with fever.

"My nose was itching me," Mako answered, flashing a smile. But Korra saw right through the lie and rolled her blue eyes. There were more important matters than the smell of fish.

Korra reminded herself that Anya hadn't woken up yet. It was been a little more than a week since she knocked her head on that wall and she made no movement. Healers have attended her day and night, keeping her warm and somehow healthy. They tried bringing water to her forehead, healing it in any way. Korra watched many times as the glowing water traveled up and down the young Airbenders' body, trying it a few times as well. But no matter what they did, Anya's skin had become paler by the minute. Some healers even said she could die, but those got kicked out of the room the minute the words left their mouths. Katara never allowed people to say such things.

She had become quite close to Anya recently. She almost never left the room in which Anya laid, the few times being to use the bathroom. Katara would eat and sleep in there. Korra didn't know whether it was because she was her late husband's sister or not. Probably, being that she was very motherly towards her. Katara was the one always trying to heal her.

_"You don't know if it won't work unless you keep trying."_ She had once said. But to tell the truth, Katara didn't know whether Anya would wake. She was still a girl who survived during a hundred and seventy years frozen in ice, her health was already in question. First off, none of the healers believed she really was the late Avatar's sister. They thought she was some girl who was lucky enough to be alive._  
_

And now Anya was still sleeping, like she was still frozen. Her brown hair was messy, spread around her head, her lips dry and cracking. Her skin was almost as pale as the snow that fell outside, and that was what worried Katara. The only sign of knowing if she were still alive is the slow rise and fall of her chest.

"So," Mako said as they reached his hut. "You think Anya will wake up?"

Korra looked thoughtful for a moment before turning to the Firebender. "What do you think?"

"Of course she will," Korra said, determined, "If she survived in ice she can survive a concussion."

* * *

Anya didn't know where she was going. It was like the hallways never ended. Every time she'd turn at a corner she'd walk for ten feet before finding two different corners. She'd then take the opposite of what she previously took but that led nowhere. She was lost, in an endless hallway of ice. It felt like days that she was running around, she felt trapped.

Anya tried calling out to people a few times, but no one answered.

"Is anyone here?" she yelled our before falling to her knees. Anya was tired, hungry and now felt lonelier than ever._ Was no one going to appear?_

Just as that thought popped into Anya's head, a small laughter made her look up. There wasn't anyone, just the same empty hallway. Except this time, the walls of ice seemed, somehow, more blue. Thinking it was a trick of her mind, Anya stood up and began retracing her steps. Maybe then someone will find her in the room she woke up in.

A few minutes past before the laughter started again, this time coming from behind her. Anya spun round, just in time to see a figure turning at a corner. Anya didn't really care _who_ it was, it was someone. And that someone could help her out of this icy hell. She ran towards the laughter, turning at the same corner it disappeared too, but, to her dismay, there was no one. Frowning, Anya longed the hallway, her ears perked up for any sound. But the only thing she heard was her loud breathing and the sound of her feet walking on the cold surface.

Suddenly, a light, a bright brilliant light flashed in front of her, making her leap back. Anya fell on her behind, shocked by the sudden strike. There was another one, passing on top of her head. If she were standing up it would've hit her, whatever it was. It was blue, from what Anya could see, a bright blue light. And then another one, a brighter one flew right past her, striking on the wall, the ice breaking off.

The laughter started again and now Anya could tell it was of a girl. The high pitch sound was menacing to her ears and Anya felt an immediate fear of it, and of her. She felt like running away from it, to anyone or anywhere. She looked around, seeing something move in the corner of her eye. Not a person, or an animal, but a shadow. _But of what?_

Before Anya could do anything, the bright fire appeared right in front of her, lunging straight towards her.

And that's when Anya opened her eyes.

She was lying down, in a bed, covered in her own sweat. She was breathing heavily as she propped herself up on her elbows, taking a look at the room. Anya recognized it immediately; it was the same room she was put in by the strange nurses, when she woke up from the ice. Only this time she was alone, and it was much darker. Anya remembered the earlier events that had happened. The old woman telling her things, her running away and then the pain she felt. But she doesn't remember what the pain was.

Was is because she hit her head? Or because of everything that had happened that she didn't know? Anya couldn't tell.

She still felt hungry thought, but less tired. How long had she been lying here? She looked up to a small circular window that seemed carved into the ice wall. The sky outside was dark, the half moon shinning thanks to the many stars around it. There was something else mounted on the wall, it was a circular metallic plate. Anya hadn't a clue what it was. The object looked modern to her, small arrows turning in one direction, numbers written behind them. This was something Anya would never have known in her time, bringing her back to _those_ thoughts.

Anya still wouldn't believe any word that left Katara's mouth. Aang couldn't be dead, that old lady couldn't be married to him, Tenzin can't be his son... Anya put her head in her hands, letting out a frustrated grunt. As much as she wanted to get rid of the questions running in her head, Anya was dying to know their answers.

Feeling famished she kicked off the thick blanket that had another layer of animal skin, seal to Anya's memory, and stood up from the bed. She noticed she wasn't wearing her air nomad clothes anymore, but a long white gown that went a few inches lower than her knees. She felt cold, but not something she couldn't tolerate. Anya inspected the room, seeing her belongings on a small table that was pushed against a wall.

Anya opened the door, trying to be as discreet, but the creaking of its wood was making it impossible. She gently tip-toed down the hallway that was only lit by very few candles mounted up on the walls by metallic ornaments. Anya scrunched her nose as it reminded her of her nightmare. She now had a dislike for ice hallways.

She wandered off quietly, not knowing where she was going until she arrived at a closed door. Light was spilling from under it and the faint voice of chatter could be heard. Anya recognized the smell of tea, making her wonder if this was where she could get something to eat. If it wasn't, she could always ask for some.

"Alright Anya," she barely whispered to herself, "Just ask for food, take it and leave." She didn't want to spend any longer with those strangers, she preferred staying by herself than with them.

She placed her hand on the handle, slowly turning it and opening the door just a few centimeters, enough to have a little peek in the room. To her suprise the door made no noise, making it easier for her to see whoever was inside. Her sense of smell was right, there was tea. A pot of it was sitting on small round table, three porcelain cups around it.

Katara was at the table, a hand around a cup, staring at it as if lost in thought. Bolin sat next to her, talking animately to a woman she never saw before. She had dark hair that was tied in a low bun, a few grey streaks already visible. She wore the colors of air nomads, so Anya figured she must be related to Tenzin somehow. She had a soft smile, nodding a few times as Bolin talked. It was motherly.

"Yeah so then Mako had no idea Pabu was in his boot," Bolin continued his story, "So when he put his foot in, Pabu bit him, and Mako fell in the wash basin! You should have seen his face, it was hilarious!" Bolin laughed loudly, the woman hushing him slightly and Katara chuckled. Anya found it amusing that the Earthbender was so energetic at a time like this. She let out a puff, not very loud but enough for the three to look at the door.

_Shoot. _Anya suddenly a chill run up and down her spine, making her think again if she wanted to go in there. She took a step back, staying still. Maybe if they didn't see her, she could walk away without a word.

"Who was that?" A voice that Anya didn't know said. Bolin made a noise as he shrugged at Pema.

"Hello?" footsteps were coming nearer to the door, making Anya forget about quietness, and began running. She didn't go far though, as the walls of ice surrounding her started cracking, then quickly changed into water. Anya froze to the spot, watching as the water create a wall in front of her, freezing itself. Only then Anya lunged a whirl of wind, unsuccessfully hitting the wall, barely chipping it. She stared at it incredulously. Anya placed her hand on the cold surface, touching it where her bending had hit. Never has she ever not sliced through ice unsuccessfully. Whenever Gu Lin had told her she was annoying, then created the exact same wall, she would easily cut through it. But not this one, it was much stronger than any other.

"Anya." Katara's tone was at the same time relieved and annoyed. Relieved to see her up, annoyed to see her running away so soon. Anya didn't turn, ignoring Katara as she approached her. The old woman placed a warm hand on her shoulder, making her turn around. Her blue eyes inspected hers, searching grey ones. "You're pale."

"I've always been pale." Anya said, realizing her hoarse voice. It sounded almost the same as when she woke up from her suppose 'hundred and seventy year' nap, but less painful to her throat.

"You were whiter than the snow before you woke up." Katara remarked, "Are you alright?"

"Just fine." Anya turned her head, wanting to ignore Katara's hard stare. She let out a sigh, before turning around and walking back from the room which she came from.

"Come on," she said, "I know you're hungry."

She waited as they all stared at her. Anya uncomfortably glanced at the ground, hating the tension.

"Now sit down," Katara pointed to an empty stool, "Pema and I will fix you something to eat." Anya sat on the stool, head still down, trying her best not to look up. The woman Katara addressed as Pema stood up and joined Katara a little further away from the table, going into another room.

"Here," Bolin took the teapot, pouring the delicious smelling tea in a cup and handing it to Anya. She whispered a small thank you and sipped the already warm beverage. It didn't take long to cool down in this weather. Anya felt warmth travel through her, a small smile appearing on her face.

"It's Ginseng," Bolin explained, noticing her change of expression. Anya furrowed her brows at him, making him explain, "The tea, I mean," he said, "It's Ginseng tea."

"Oh," Anya looked down at her cup, watching the steam disappear, "It's good." Bolin nodded. Anya could taste the sweetness yet spiciness of the tea, reminding her of something. "It's Fire Nation, isn't it? The tea."

Bolin stared at Anya for a split second before nodding. At first, he didn't know what she was talking about. The Fire Nation didn't exist ever since the war ended, Bolin only knew about it through stories he was told too when he was a child. Growing up on the streets was hard for both him and Mako, they didn't have much of an education.

"Hey," Bolin suddenly asked, "Do you remember anything, from like, when you fell asleep?"

"That depends," Anya said, "Do you mean from a _hundred and seventy years ago_, or earlier."

Bolin smiled at her sarcasm. "Earlier."

Anya considered her answer at first. She was asked this same question over and over again, she didn't know what to answer. She clearly remembered everything that happened. That bump on her head was painful. But should she tell him? Or keep it to herself, for the better?

_When in doubt, trust no one_, her guardian's words echoed through her mind. But Anya felt like she could trust them, like she should.

As Katara and Pema came back in the room, Anya answered her question.

"I think I fell off my bed," Anya smoothly lied, "After Katara, Tenzin and Asami attended to me. That's all I remember."

"Do you remember what we said to you?" Katara asked, placing the tray she was carrying on the table in front of Anya. It had many different kinds of food, from paos to rolls, noodles to rice. Anya wondered at first how she going to eat all of it, but after the first bite, she couldn't stop. She really was famished.

"Nope," she lied again, chewing and avoiding her gaze, but the words left her mouth before she could stop them, "Just, maybe one little thing."

Anya clamped her mouth shut, but it was too late. Her bluntness was too loud and just had to speak for itself. The three were looking at her, waiting for her to continue. Anya had either the choice to tell the truth, or lie again. But what really was the point of lying when all Anya wanted to know was the truth?

Anya sighed heavily, slouching in her seat. "Okay," she said, "I remember everything."

Katara's eyes grew concerned as Pema bent forward on her table. Her husband had told her everything that had happened, how hard it was going to be for her discovering everything. Tenzin knew how his father felt about it, it was his weak spot somehow. Whenever they would mention the Southern Air temple or anything related to it, Aang would stop talking for a while, losing interest in everything they had just been talking about and stay silent.

"Anya," Katara took her hand, making the Airbender's grey eyes flicker to hers, "You should know that we're all here for you. What you're going through now is hard, but Aang would have wanted this."

"Aang," Anya repeated his name, feeling the nostalgia come back, "He's..." She left the sentence hanging, not sure of she wanted to pronounce the word. Tears began pricking her eyes, but Anya bit her lip, containing herself to not cry. He was her brother after all, her little brother. Anya had lived all her life in happiness. The death of her parents should have been sad, but like her brother, she pulled through it. Anya never cried, ever. And now this was one of the rare exceptions where Anya knew she was going to melt.

Katara's stare continued to burn in her skin, making it harder for Anya to not let it out. She hated crying, it was a sign of weakness. Gu Lin had told her that.

And then Anya though of the old man, how loving and caring he was to her all those years. He was the one to find her alone on the street, small and frail. He was the one to take her in his care, feeding her, holding her in bad times. And now?

Reality struck her harder than Anya ever wanted it too. At first, Anya didn't really believe anything, at least she didn't want to. But she knew it was true, that she was going to crack. And that was now.

Bolin noticed her fingers constantly twitching, as if debating on their own what they wanted to do.

"Do you want some time alone?" Bolin asked her.

"No," Anya answered quickly, "No," she said again, calmer, "I'm sure I'll break something."

"You did make quite a mess the other day," Katara chuckled, "We had to change all the furniture."

"Oh," Anya looked down, shamelessly but smiling, "Sorry about that. It doesn't usually happen."

"Eh, it's alright," Bolin said, leaning back on his stool, stretching a bit, "I also broke some things since I was here."

"Oh, yes," Katara rolled her eyes, "How can I forget that?"

Pema chuckled and Bolin laughed, Anya just smiled.

"Well," she said standing up, "Thank you for the meal."

"You should get some sleep, too," Katara suggested.

Anya gave her a look. "More sleep?"

Katara shook her head, telling her to rest. She was weak, and just woke up from no physical exercise whatsoever.

Anya went back to her room, laying on the bed once more. She starred at the ceiling for what seemed an eternity then sat up. She looked around, feeling lost until her eyes landed on her clothes. The warm air nomads' colors felt safe to her, only it reminded her of everything that happened.

How was she suppose to take this? Was she going to crawl up in a ball and cry? Or suck it up? Crying is weakness. But isn't that what Anya felt at this moment, weak?

Anya sigh heavily. So many questions were running through her mind once more. What happened to Aang? Gu Lin? Hano? And even, Zu Ten?

She remembered him clearly, how he attacked her without a second thought. Anya thought Zu Ten was crazy, she thought it wasn't actually him. But it was, from his look to his voice, it was the boy she once used to love. But Gu Lin told her he was different, that is wasn't him.

And then that day, the day everything changed, the day everything went as Anya hadn't expected too, what happened?

* * *

It glided smoothly in the sky. It's wings spread out, the lemur flew gracefully on top of the igloos. It's big curious eyes searched the numerous alleyways, eyeing the few early risers. It was hungry, there's no denying. Ever since it tagged along on the air bison, it never had a descent bit of food. The poor lemur only ate from leftovers left in the trash bins, sometimes being lucky enough to steal a fish from an angry tribesman.

But now the lemur had caught on a scent, sniffing the air, flying in circles before choosing a direction and dashing straight toward it. It arrived in front of a rather all building compare to the rest of the houses. It was the only one standing out of everything, but it was also entirely built of ice. It was built on a small hill, ice steps leading up to its' front door. Plazas were built around as well, igloos and fountains surrounding them.

The lemur flew along the tall columns, loosing the scent for a split second before dashing upwards, then right, longing the side of the building till it reached the back. The smell was stronger here. It sat on a small balcony as it observe it's target. A small window, as wide and the same shape as a porthole, larger than the lemur needed to get in. But it wasn't a very easy target neither.

The window had a wooden flap halfway closed from the top, leaving a small gap. But the smell of food was too tempting and the lemur took off again, choosing to enter the window by the side. As it neared it's target a messenger hawk appeared out of nowhere, screeching as it collided with the mammal. The lemur was thrown onto the wooden flap, immediately breaking it off, going down with the animal. The lemur fell onto the snow who was soft as it snowed during the night (no surprise there) and popped his head out of it.

The hawk landed next to it, continuously tilting it's head over and over again, as if debating to see if the lemur was something to eat. To the bird's surprise, the lemur sneezed, sending a string of slimy snot onto it's beak. It screeched, shook it's feathered head and flew away with the message it was carrying.

The sun shined through the small window, landing on Anya's face. She squinted her eyes, shuffling to the spot on the bench next to her. She sighed in relief as the sun was no longer in her face and looked down to her right, at the small boy starring at her.

Anya blinked. "Hello."

"You're pretty," he said, showing a toothy grin, "Can I have some of your hair?"

Before Anya could answer, the boys' hand already shot up to her hair, tugging on it lightly.

Anya laughed awkwardly, pushing the boy off. "Uh," she said, as the boy kept on reaching out, "I don't think so."

"He asked me that too," Asami commented, as she watched the whole scene.

The table has been really quiet ever since the food had arrived. No one knew what to say. Everyone was mostly picking at their food, avoiding everyone's gaze. Except for Anya. She was impatiently waiting in her seat, her bowl long empty, her eyes darting from person to person at the table. She was waiting for someone to say something, for more answers.

"So," Anya suddenly said, making everyone look up at her. Anya cleared her throat and redirected her gaze on the first person she saw. Tenzin. "You're my nephew."

Tenzin blinked as his children starred at Anya, eyes wide. Jinora and Ikki both knew very well who Anya was, and what she was to them, but they didn't expect such a blunt sentence from her. Meelo was the only one who still wouldn't understand why Anya was here. All he did was call her 'pretty ice lady', as the children already visited her in her coma. At least that was what they thought she was in.

"Don't worry," Anya laughed, lifting both hands up, "I won't freak out. I just want to know more things about this..." she looked for a word, "Generation."

"Oh," Tenzin said, impressed by her sudden calmness, "Then yes, you are my aunt."

Anya tilted her head, chuckling at his answer, inspecting him. "You know," she said, "Now that I can take a good look at you, I do see the resemblance." Anya nodded to herself as she recognized Aang's large ears and same nose. He also had her skin, and was an Airbender probably, but he had his mother's blue eyes.

"But I'm not Aang's only son," Tenzin remarked.

"Oh?" Anya said, now curious. Tenzin nodded, looking at his siblings that were also seated at this very large table. Anya followed his gaze and found an older man, who was grinning at her, funny little pink earmuffs on top of his rabid grey hair. He had Katara's skin but Anya's metallic eyes. She then looked at the woman next to him, who was also smiling at her.

She seemed the oldest amongst the three, her hair already being white. She looked like a calm, serene woman, looking exactly like her mother.

"Oh right!" Anya said, smacking her forehead. She should have thought about it before, Katara mentioned who they were when Anya first met her. "I remember now! You're Bumi, and you're Kya, right?" She said, pointing to one another. They both nodded in response before silence once again overcame the table, much to Anya's dismay. She always hated silence.

Anya huffed, bringing a hand up to her neck and tugging on her collar. She was given before breakfast, Water Tribe gear, as her thin air nomad clothes wouldn't keep her warm. She was now coated in arctic blue, fur tickling her toes in her large brown boots. She did feel warmer, but she didn't like all the fur. She still was an air nomad, thought she no longer resembled one. _At least I won't catch a cold._

Speaking of the devil, Mako made a weird face before sneezing loudly. A number of bless you's were heard, Mako sniffling a thanks.

"So, nephew," Anya teased, making most of the people at the table smirk, "You're married to Pema," she looked over at the non-bender who nodded, craddling a baby who was peacefully sleeping, "Is that you're child?"

"The latest one," a girl answered, "I'm the oldest, Jinora," she smiled, Anya only now noticing the spitting ressemblance in between her and her mother, "That's Ikki, and Meelo. The baby is Rohan."

Ikki waved happily, reminding Anya of an overly excited gerbil. It was like her mouth was about to explode, millions of words waiting to erupt. She also looked a lot like Pema and her sister, her black hair sporting two buns.

Meelo on the other hand was like his father. Bald, blue eyes, but loud. Tenzin was a quiet man but Meelo was quite the opposite. Since Anya had moved closer towards him on the bench and after their short conversation, Meelo hadn't let of her arm. He was still holding it, as if it were some toy and he was giving every last but of affection he had. It was adorable to Anya, so she let it be.

Soon, the table was being cleared and Anya once more dragged towards her designated room. But this time, it was by Korra. Once in it, Korra immediately went to the dresser, opening every drawer, shuffeling clothing.

"What are you looking for?" Anya asked.

"A thicker coat," Korra answered, back facing the air bender.

"Why?"

Korra shut the drawer, after having pulled out a thick arctic blue parka. She turned around, smiling at Anya. "The last time you've been here was over a hundred and seventy years ago," Korra said, recalling the bit of information from the ride back on Naga's back, "Don't you wanna see how it's changed?"

Anya smiled at the young girl, who threw the oarka at her for her to catch. A few minutes later, with Tenzin and Katara's permission, the two were free to wander around the city. But to Tenzin's commands Anya had to be hidden from the public eye. Their search for her was strickly a secret, but the word got out. Now, from gossiper to another, the news of a long lost sister has spread. Tenzin doesn't know how far it went, no ome can be sure thse days. But for now, Anya was forbidden to bend outdoors. She did put up a fit, but if it meant not being able to venture outside then she went along with it.

So now Anya had to wear her parka's hood over her head, hiding her face but ticking her cheeks. It kind of bothered her that she had to stay hidden. what she wanted now was to discover this new world, and the best way to do so is by meeting new people.

"The city gets pretty boring," Korra said, leading the way. Anya's brows were up at Korra's remark, she didn't think it was boring at all. The Southern Water Tribe had changed in many ways since the air nomads' visit. For one thing, it nearly tripled its size. And that's from when Anya was here, not from the war.

"So," Korra continued, "Once we find Naga we can go out of it," she looked back, smirking, "Have a little fun, ya know," She slowed down as they approached a large gate, "Explore."

"I thought Tenzin said we weren't allowed to leave the city." Anya remarked.

"That's exactly why we are." Korra smiled. "Besides, weren't you the one who wanted to go penguin sledding?"

"Can I bend out there?" Anya asked.

"Of course!" Korra said, "No one will be watching."

Anya admired her rebel figure, not caring a single word that Tenzin had said to her. She would just agree, wave her hand in dismissal and leave the room nefore Tenzin could even sigh. Anya would just laugh, she saw a great friend in Korra. And hopefully, she would become one.

Near the gates were several animals, mainly buffalo yaks. Amongst them was the polar bear dog, who's head was busy eating from a large bucket. A man nearby observed as the creature devoured the fish quickly, and very messily. He had a disgusted look on his face, which made Anya laugh.

The man looked up, noticing Korra besides her.

"Avatar," he said, bowing, "Do you wish to ride your polar bear dog?"

"Avatar?" Anya repeated, giving Korra a look.

"Oh," Korra said, avoiding her gaze and jumping onto Naga's back, "No one told you about that?"

"No," Anya said, clearly annoyed that nobody mentioned something so important and that she herself hadn't even thought about it.

"Then there you have it," Korra grinned, "I'm your brother's reincarnation." She flicked one of her ponytails in front of her, in a mocking way, "Pretty cool, huh?"

Anya laughed, shaking her head. So this is the girl that her brother now lives in. She was glad, in a way, that Korra was a good person to her so far. Not that she would become worse, Anya was sure that wouldn't happen. Just that Korra seemed like a great Avatar, who will live great stories to be told in the future.

"Well?" Korra said, "What are ya waiting for? Hop on!"

Before following Korra's order, Anya had to remind herself that she couldn't bend. So, much to what Korra said, Anya had to climb into Naga, and not hop.

Naga wagged her tail happily and with a small kick by Korra's boot, she ran off, oast the gates, onto the icy field that stretched on for miles. The wind was blowing hard, not seeming to affect Korra in the slightest. Anya, on the other hand, was clutching on to Naga's harness for dear life. She was an air bender, this wind shouldn't bother her, but the force of it was very strong.

"Hey!" Korra cried, "Look!"

Anya followed her hand and saw in the distance, small black and white dots, moving slowly. As they approached the dots Anya could clearly see what they were.

"Penguins!" she gasped, forgetting Tenzin's warning and leaping high in the air, off the polar bear dog. Korra laughed from Naga's back, as she ran after Anya who was making giant leaps towards the animals.

But of course, breaking rules comes with consequence. As to Korra's assumption, they weren't the only ones playing in the snow.

* * *

**Also, I wanted to ask if I should do P.O.V's, which are Point Of Views of some characters.. If I do it'll be easier to explain certain things later in the story, but I'm not sure if it's such a good idea. A review will be nice :)**

**Thanks for reading! Reviews are much appreciated, I read them all of course :D**


	5. Republic City

**Chapter 5 :D **

**So, to make things clear, anything in bold will be A/N.**

**I just wanted to point that out because from all the fics I've read here, I'm the only one who hasn't put A/N at the beginning of this little text thing...oh well :)**

**Hope you like it!**

* * *

Rolak wasn't a quiet man. Although he would appear as that at first sight. Tall, dark complexion, blue eyes that spelled Water Tribe all over, he walked with a calm pace, his head always held high as if to show off some dignity wherever he went. And wherever he would go, his trusty friend Rho would follow.

But once Rolak would open his mouth, tons and tons of words would just spill out. Interesting ones, interesting enough for Rho to scribble them down on the notepad he carried with him.

Contrary to that, Rolak was now laying quietly in the snow, his parka's hood covering his dark hair up to his eyebrows. The wind was strongly blowing above him, the few birds passing by. He was holding a telescope in his hand but wasn't using it. The sight in front of him was close enough for him to know what was going on. Normally, Rolak wouldn't care if two girls were playing in snow. Why would he care? He had many other things on his mind. But it was _who_ those girls were that intrigued him.

"Could it be her?" the man next to him whispered. Rolak didn't have to think long enough to answer, he knew perfectly who they were, with or without the old telescope he had.

One was Water Tribe, her dark skin contrasting on her blue parka. She was running after an otter penguin, attempting to climb on it's back every now and then. Every time she tried, she would fail. After a while, the girl lashed out, fire spilling from her knuckles. That's when Rolak immediately recognized her as the Avatar. Impatient, stubborn, hard-headed and tough, she didn't wait for the animal to come to her but instead charged straight to it. Now, because of the flames the otter penguin had ran away, gliding somewhere else off the ice.

The other one was trickier for Rolak to find out. She could have been from the Water Tribe as well, except that her skin was pale. A colonial maybe, but it was only after she bended that Rolak understood who she was.

He had heard, only a week ago, as he walked in the market that Avatar Korra had some business going round in the Pole. And being the man he was, Rolak had then asked many people what this "business" was, and finding out wasn't an issue. That's the problem with news, if it's big, it will spread, faster than wildfire. And this news specifically intrigued Rolak. It was of a search, the one of a teenager, long lost, frozen in ice. And the teenager being the late Avatar's sister is what Rolak was most interested by. Most people had found it absurd, that it would be impossible for a girl to survive that long, none the less the _Avatar's sister_. But Rolak believed it was true, and the proof was now right before him.

"Yes, it is her," he answered with a determined nod. He looked over at his companion and nudged him in the shoulder. "Get your camera out, Rho," he looked back at the air bender with a smirk, "We've got a story."

* * *

"You're scaring it!" Anya said, watching as the poor penguin ran away. Korra let out a heavy sigh, looking down at her gloves. She didn't exactly think this through. By firebending, the fabric burned off, leaving only half of her glove left on her hand. Korra slipped them off, finding them completely useless now. Stuffing them in her parka, she looked over at Anya, who was petting the creature on it's head.

"How do you do that?" Korra said, pointing to Anya and the penguin. She didn't understand how Anya could be so calm and serene. Maybe it was because she was a airbender, maybe it was in her blood.

"For one thing I didn't firebend," Anya said, leading to Korra rolling her eyes, "You have to be quiet and gentle." she gave Korra a look, "Weren't you the one who tamed Naga?"

The polar bear dog barked at the sound of her name, Korra hushing her.

"It's not the same," Korra explained, "Naga was a puppy, she was so cute and friendly. Otter penguins are...weird and scared." The animal let out a cry and waddled off, leaving the two girls alone, "See." Korra waved her hand to the creature, giving Anya a "I told you so" look.

Anya laughed and shook her head. No, she didn't see at all. Korra was just too straightforward, that's all.

"So," Anya said, swaying back and forth, making Korra wonder what she was up to, "You and Mako, huh?"

The thought has been swimming in Anya's head since she sat at the table for breakfast. She noticed how they would often glance at each other, resulting into Korra blushing in the slightest and Mako smirking, looking elsewhere.

Korra cocked her brows up, clearly surprised that she knew.

"I saw the way you two looked at each other at the table, Korra," Anya smirks, "It's obvious you're in love." She sang the last word, just to taunt Korra. And it worked, Korra easily made a snowball with the years of practice she had and threw it right on Anya's face.

"Oh." Anya said, blinking as the snow fell off, surprised that she didn't see that coming.

Korra laughed, swooping down and making another one. Anya, quickly gathered a handful of snow, but unsuccessfully only made a lump that didn't stay together. Korra threw her ball at her, making Anya's' fall on the ground.

"Hey!" Anya glared. Korra put her tongue out, bending a snow barrier so Anya couldn't get to her. Anya let out another unhappy "hey" before trying to make another snowball. Korra being a waterbender, none the less the Avatar was an unfair advantage. But whatever she tried, no matter how hard she tried, Anya couldn't make a solid snowball. Grunting, Anya looked back at Korra who had a small stack of snowballs next to her, smirking. Another one struck Anya, making her glare harder.

"Oh yeah?" Anya said to Korra, "Bet you never had one of these," Anya removed her gloves despite the cold and threw them to the ground. She brought her hands together and waved them above each other, bending air together to form a ball. She then looked back at Korra, who had been watching her bend. She smirked maliciously, "Air ball!"

Anya threw the air ball with such a strong force, hitting Korra right on her stomach, propelling her high into the air. She fell back down in the snow, forgetting that she could have bended her way down since airbending was still new to her. Anya was bent over on her knees, laughing at Korra's dumbfound expression.

"How-" Korra stumbled, getting back up and dusting the snow off herself, "How did you do that?"

Anya looked up, wiping the few tears from her eyes, "Did what? That's just an old trick Aang and I invented. We named it after the game-"

"No, not that," Korra said, "I meant the way you bended." Anya tilted her head, not understanding what she meant.

"It was strong," Korra continued, then, putting a hand on her hip she smirked at the air bender, "You're pretty tough."

"I know," Anya answered, "I was the best in my class." Anya smiled, recalling her beating all her teachers. She wasn't trained in the temple like all the monks, but in the only bending school the village had, for the girls and boys who somehow weren't monks. She remembered clearly the day of the evaluation, when monk Gyatso came down from the temple, as well as many other monks. This was Anya's final test of the year, the one who determined whether she was a qualified airbender, meaning she could leave the village and venture out to the other nations. It was one of Anya's many dreams, visiting the world. Aang got to do it, him being a monk. But Anya never did, since the test had to be a day before the Fire Nation had attacked.

Korra smiled at the girl. Perky, though and kind, Kora saw a great friendship forming in between them.

Suddenly, something bright shinning in the corner of her eye caught Anya's attention. She turned to look at what is was, but found nothing. Then, as she was looking in the icy field, a shadow dashed from rock to rock, the same bright light that Anya had seen glowing from it.

"What _is_ that?" Anya asked, slowly approaching it even thought it had to be at least thirty meters away.

"What's what?"

"That." Anya pointed to the snow, Korra following her hand but seeing nothing at all. She looked at Anya, who was staring so intensely in the distance, not knowing what in earth she was talking about. Anya could see it, running fast, almost gliding throught the snow, a black and blue shadow coming closer by the second. Anya didn't know what it was, but somehow, it seemed familiar. Like something she might have seen before, in a book, an illustration, a dream or even a nightmare. The possibilities were endless.

"I don't see anything." Korra said, walking towards it, blocking Anya's view. She quickly went to Korra's side, looking for the shadow but finding nothing. And just like that in a blink of the eye, it was gone.

Anya shook her head, feeling slightly giddy. "Nevermind," she said, bringing a hand to her head, "I must still be sick."

"Yeaaah," Korra pursed her lips, walking back to Naga, "We should get back anyway. It's late and Tenzin is probably freaking out."

The scream of the air bender's name confirmed Korra's theory.

_Crap_.

With a heavy sigh, she looked up to the sky to see the man whom the scream belonged to. Perched on Oogi, Tenzin angrily looked down at the two girls, his brows furiously knit together.

Anya leaned towards Korra, whispering while her eyes never left Tenzin's infuriated face, "Is he always like this?"

"When I'm around? Yes." Korra gulped.

The sky bison landed on the snow with a loud roar, it's tail hitting the ground, throwing snow into the air. Tenzin jumped out of the bison, landing softly on the ground and marching straight towards Korra, who was shrinking by the second. Another head popped up from Oogi's saddle, Bolin's, who smiled and waved upon seeing the two girls. Anya returned the gesture as he climbed out, unsuccessfully falling on the ice. Mako followed him, helping his brother to stand up again, Pabu jumping on his shoulder.

Anya watched as Korra argued with Tenzin, whose face was getting even more red by the minute. She could just picture the smoke coming out of his ears.

"It's a good thing we found you two," Mako started, flinching as he watched his girlfriend being yelled at.

"We weren't gone for _that_ long," Anya said.

Bolin puffed. "You two were gone for _five hours_!"

"We have?!" Anya exclaimed, surprised that time past so fast. She looked up at the sky, seeing that the sun was exactly the same. It seemed as if it were only noon. "Doesn't look like it."

"Well that's not how it works here," Mako explained, "In the Poles, the weather is different so the sun sets and rises at different hours."

Anya looked over at Bolin who was nodding to his brother's explanation.

"That's why we have these." Bolin took Mako's wrist, pushing up his thick layers of sleeves to reveal a small metallic object that was held with a leather strap.

Anya blinked. It looked exactly like the strange circular thing that was hooked in her room, back in the city, only much smaller. Like a portable version. Still, Anya hadn't a clue what it was.

"What is that?" she asked, poking the object with her nail, finding that the surface was made of glass.

"This?" Bolin waved his brother's wrist in the air, Mako frowning at him, "You don't know what a watch is?"

Anya shook her head in a sign of a no, just as Tenzin stormed towards her.

"Anya," he said, collecting his calm with heavy heaves, "Let's go."

Without another word, Tenzin flew onto the air bison's back, signalling Anya to follow him. Bolin shrugged, hopping onto it as well. Mako, on the other hand, went over to Korra, probably to accompany her home on Naga.

Anya looked back at the Avatar, who was perched on Naga's back, Mako holding on behind her.

"Go," Korra mouthed, "He's pissed at me."

With a smile, Anya flew as Tenzin did on Oogi's saddle, sitting at the back, besides Bolin. Tenzin gave her a surprised look as Oogi began to fly off.

"You were bending?" he asked, eyes wide.

"I didn't think it would be a problem," she answered, "Korra said there barely is anybody around."

"Barely doesn't mean no one, Anya," He turned back, frowning, "I thought you knew better."

Instead of answering, Anya bit her lip. She didn't want to start out their relationship this way, none the less an aunt/nephew relationship.

"So," Bolin started, to break the silence. He never liked it, and Anya was glad that broke it. "You excited?"

Anya's brows flew up. "For what?"

Bolin puffed once more, "You didn't hear? We're going home tomorrow!"

"Well not tomorrow," Tenzin said, "The way back will take a full day so we'll be there after tomorrow-"

"Home?" Anya interrupted, a smile forming on her lips, "You mean Republic City?" She remembered him mentioning it in their conversation last night.

Bolin nodded eagerly, "Home, where I can finally bend!" The earthbender let out a happy sigh, falling back on the saddle, arms crossed behind him. Anya laughed, watching at how excited he was. It must have been hard for him, not bending for what? Two, three weeks? Anya couldn't go a day without doing some little trick.

"Home..." Anya muttered to herself, "It must be nice there."

* * *

Anya clutched the satchel close to her body, as if she was holding on to it for dear life. Well, it might as well be the same as the satchel was one of the only things she had left of the air temple. Anya had almost forgotten about it, she never carried any satchel, let alone owned a satchel, until Katara had came in her room and handed it to her. She said they were many things in it, some old trickets that seemed dear to Anya, a small flute carved from wood as well as an old book that was a stranger to the air bender.

_"What's this?" She asked, opening the book, dust falling out of it. Katara shrugged._

_"It was in the bag," she said, taking a seat next to the young girl, peaking over her shoulder to read along. It was old alright, obviously from Anya's time, the pages yellow and the leather cover withered from age. At first, Katara was surprised that such a thing could belong to Anya, being an air bender and all she thought there wasn't any leather in the temples. _

_"It's Gu Lin's," Anya explained, flipping the pages slowly. She remembered how he had a whole collection of leather covered books, he said they were seal skin. Anya had read every book in his collection, even if some were about medicine and herbs, she had found them interesting. But she had never seen this one before._

_Then, a memory suddenly sparked in her brain, making go back o that dreadful day. She saw Gu Lin, once again on the floor of that dark cave, panting, sweat dripping down his forehead as he was furiously searching through his blue robes. Anya thought she hadn't been watching him at that moment, that she had been watching the cave entrance, in case any fire nation soldier would suddenly attack, but she was wrong. Somewhere in that moment, for a split second maybe, she had seen Gu Lin slip the book in his satchel. _

_"He put that satchel on me before freezing me," Anya said quietly, the memory now fresh in her mind. Katara put a motherly arm around her._

_"And for a reason," She said, giving her a warm smile, "Maybe that book contains information you will need to find out."_

_Information...she had thought, but of what?_

Anya was too preoccupied to think about that at the moment. The sight before her was too grand to be unseen.

As the waves slowly crashed on the side of the ship, Anya held onto the railing with the hand that wasn't on her satchel. She was quite uneasy going on the ship, as she had never been on a boat before (even when she was in the North Pole), let alone an elite ship from the Order of the White Lotus council. The boats she had ever seen were small, wooden, some even weaved. Not anything like this massive metal engine boat, running on what Korra said was "electricity".

And what she was seeing was something she'd never imagine. Buildings, taller than any temple she had ever seen were all rising from the ground in multiple shapes and sizes, all lit with lights of every colour. She could hear the noise of the city from where she was, strange sounds she never heard, mixed with what sounded like a broken trumpet.

Anya was more than amazed by everything she saw, even though she was so far away from it.

Bolin watched, as the air bender watched the city with such an enthusiastic expression that he almost wanted to laugh. It was going to be hard, though, for Anya to discover everything she missed.

He went back to a few hours ago, when Anya first boarded the ship. If she was afraid, she didn't show it. Instead, she spent every minute of the long journey wandering about, in every floor and every cabin, discovering anything new that she didn't know of. Like the watch his brother owned, it took him a while to make Anya understand what it was and how it worked.

"It's beautiful," Anya said as Bolin leaned on the rail next to her. He nodded.

"And wait till you see everything from up close," he chuckled.

Anya laughed, leaning on the rail as well, feeling as the ship no longer scared her.

"It's just so strange," Anya started, still staring at the moving city, "That all this happened while I was what? Asleep?" She chuckled, "I just can't believe-"

She cut herself short, pushing herself off the rail. Bolin raised his brows, seeing as the air bender's eyes grew wide. Partly in astonishment, and partly in disbelief. Anya wasn't looking straight in front of her, but instead on her right, where something tall and large had caught her attention.

"No way..." she whispered in disbelief, walking to the right side of the ship, getting closer to the object.

"What?" Bolin asked, following her, "What is it?"

Anya stopped walking and pointed upwards, a giant grin on her face. "_Is that Aang?_"

Bolin looked up, and began laughing. Anya looked at the earthbender, nudged him in the ribs and looked back up to what she was so surprised about.

Right there, frozen in what seemed like green marble, was her brother Aang. He looked exactly like she remembered him. He was carved looking young, maybe a little older than she remembered, but other than that it was him. Same baldness, same tattoos, same glider staff, exact same usual fighting stance and even, to her utmost amusement, the same large goofy ears.

"So this is how they see my brother," Anya finally said, when Bolin was finished laughing and when they were now far away from the statue.

"Yep," he answered with a grin, "That's Avatar Aang's memorial island, it was built after he past."

Anya smiled faded momentarily, but then came back just as quick. So maybe Aang was gone, but at least there was something to remember him by. She knew Aang did something amazing to get all this recognition, she didn't exactly know _what_ yet, as Katara only started telling her the beginning with _excruciating_ details, but she was told her new home had a library, where she could read about her brother's adventures.

As the ship came to a stop, Anya was suddenly surrounded by Tenzin, the lady in green from that breakfast she still didn't know the name off and a couple of White Lotus Guards.

"What's going on?" Anya asked, looking at Tenzin as he held a large brown coat in his hand.

"This is going to come out strange..." Tenzin led on.

Anya crossed her arms, cocking one eyebrow up. "Go on."

"But we need to ensure your safety. I have word that the news of your arrival in Republic City has made the headlines, including your picture." He continued.

Anya frowned. "What's a picture?"

Bolin felt like slapping himself. In all this seriousness, Anya managed to blurt out something completely out of the matter.

"This." Tenzin held up a newspaper, the front page making both Anya and Bolin's eyes grow wide.

A picture, or as Anya just called, a "very good painting", was of her and Korra, when they were out with the otter penguins. It was taken rather far away, but close enough to identify them. Korra was looking in the air at Anya, who was at that moment showing off an air bending trick. They could clearly make out Korra's face, but lucky for Anya she had been wearing her parka's hood. The caption above made everything clear in case nobody had understood;_ "Avatar long lost sibling has returned"._

Anya bit her lip,"I'm sorry?"

"Your recklessness lead to this," The lady spoke for the first time, "If it weren't for you bending out there in the snow, your picture would have never been taken."

"Aw come on, how could they know reporters were out there?" Bolin defended.

"What's going on?" Korra arrived, walking straight up to the little group, followed by Mako. She had heard about the commotion on shore and wanted to make sure she would be near Anya. After bonding in the snow and partly on the ship, she thought Anya would be a great friend that was a girl. Not that Asami was problem, but to Korra, she was just _too girly. _Korra wanted someone tough, someone with whom she could have a fun time, and also someone that could understand her like no boy could. And somehow, Korra had a feeling Anya was just that girl.

Walking up to Tenzin, she could clearly make out his expression. _He's pissed again... _she thought, _but at what?_ She looked at Anya's bewildered expression, then at Bolin's, then at Lin's who actually looked as pissed as Tenzin's; before taking the newspaper in her hand.

She grunted, Mako taking the paper to have a look himself. "Stupid reporters." She muttered.

"And all this because of-"

"I said I was sorry!" Anya cut Lin off, glaring at her. She had a feeling she wasn't going to like this armored woman. Whatever her name was because she didn't bother introducing herself. She had this high figure of authority, like she had a big part in everything that was going on that Anya had yet to know of. But for now, she remained the mean lady in the dark armor.

Ignoring their small argument, Tenzin walked over to Anya, the coat and a hat she didn't notice before in his other hand.

"You'll have to wear this for now," he said, thrusting the items to her so she would take them, as if she had no other option, "So they won't recognize you."

Anya took them, lifting them up with both brows furrowed together. She looked back at Tenzin, giving him a look, her nose scrunched in slight disgust.

Tenzin let out a sigh. "Just, put it on." He breathed.

Anya rolled her eyes, slipping on the coat.

"And the hat." He frowned.

She rolled her eyes again, placing the ridiculous bowl shaped hat on her head. Tenzin reached out, buttoning her coat till the top of her collar, pushing down the hat until there was only the tip her nose sticking out.

Anya was then guided to the front of the ship, where she could clearly hear cries of angry men, protesting to "let them through". They sounded annoyed and she heard the sound of metallic objects clanking against each other abruptly, not roughly, just quickly and loudly so it would somehow echo in the air.

She softened her pace a little, unsure of the commotion now that it sounded so harsh. And if she could only 'see' it, things would be much more reassuring.

Anya slowly reached up for her hat, wanting to push it backwards a little, so she could have the smallest peak of what was going on. Her fingers wrapped around the thin material, prepared to push it back when a hand grabbed her arm. Anya let out an annoyed grunt, Korra's laugh filling her ears.

"Look," she said, linking her now bare arm with Anya's, making her wonder when she had ditched her parka, "I know you can't see, but it's better this way. The paps already took some pictures of us but they don't know what your face looks like, their camera's can only take 'em up close." She quickened her pace, making Anya walk faster with her, "Besides, Tenzin said it's better if they don't get to know you."

Anya blinked, her eyelashes hitting the hat at each blink. _Paps? Cameras?_ She hadn't a clue what Korra was talking about.

"Why?" She finally asked as the noise got louder, the voices getting noisier and more demanding.

"It's a long story..." Korra led on. Anya could now feel them descending the ramp to shore.

"But?" Anya asked, wanting to know the rest. But she doubted she had heard her over how loud it was now.

"Avatar Korra!" A man shouted.

"Just one picture!"

"Who's that girl with ya?"

"Avatar!"

"Would you just make way," Tenzin yelled from up front. Anya figured she must be surrounded by White Lotus guards, or anyone else for the matter. She could feel protective arms going past her stomach in front or at the back of her, Korra protecting her right side. There was also the fact that she was still dressed in Water Tribe clothes, meaning that she had to walk with these heavy seal skin boots. She felt like an idiot the entire time on the ship, taking large steps and almost tripping in the stairs. Anya couldn't wait till she traded them for her usual thin Air Nomad boots or slippers. She didn't know how Korra managed to walk all day in these.

Soon, the noise was over and all Anya could hear is Korra telling her where to go, how many steps were on this staircase, if a rock was somehow in the middle of her way. She knew they weren't near to the sea, as she couldn't hear the sound of the waves anymore. Now, she could hear small noises, of animals like birds or lemurs. Anya was guided through a door, down some hallway until she was in a room, when Korra removed her hat.

Anya blinked a few times, her vision still blurry. She was alone in the room, besides Korra and Pema, who was holding a baby she was told was also her son on the ship.

"Well," Pema said, "This is your room."

Anya looked around. It was rather plain, yellowish brown walls, a large circular window giving a view on the courtyard Anya assumed they had passed by, another one of Bolin's _clock_ things, a bed, a dresser and finally, a wardrobe. It was simple, which reminded her a lot of the air temple she once lived by.

"I like it."

"I'm glad you do," Pema answered, smiling warmly.

"Best part is, my room is nextdoor," Korra smirked. Anya smiled, jumping on the bed, faking a yawn.

"Thanks for the room Pema," she smiled at the woman, "Thanks for keeping me away from the reporters, Korra," she smiled at the Avatar, "But if you'd excuse me, I'm pretty tired." Both of them nodded, Pema leaving the room. Korra walked towards the door and looked back, seeing the air bender sitting straigh up in her bed, looking more awake than ever. She didn't even remove her boots or the large coat she was given, meaning there was an another meaning to Anya's "I'm pretty tired".

"Oh, and you know," she said, hand on the door, "There's a great view from the balcony of the main temple." Korra smirked as Anya's brows went up, "Don't wake anybody."

And with that, the Avatar closed the door, leaving Anya smiling to herself. Korra could truly read her mind.

With a quick movement, the blanket was off her legs and Anya's ear was against the door. From her angle, she could see outside the window, and to her delight, there wasn't anybody in sight. Korra's foot steps in the hall were long gone, not a single sound could be heard. Except the thumping of Anya's excited heart.

Kicking her shoes off and ditching the coat, Anya slowly glided the rice paper door open, a small smile appearing on her face as it didn't make a single sound. Once in the hall, Anya wasted no time. She figured all of these other doors were bedrooms as well, and if she walked down the hall it would make too much noise.

Flicking her wrists, she created an air ball, making it large enough for her to jump on it. Once it was her size, Anya flew down the hall, the soft wheezing sound of a breeze following her.

To tell the truth, Anya had no idea where she was going. For one thing, she had just got to Air Temple Island. For another, she was blindfolded the entire time. Luckily, it was only in a matter of minutes that she found herself in front of what Korra said was "the main temple". It was more of a pagoda really, rows and rows of balconies lit with small lamps. It was the tallest structure on the island, and from the top, it probably had the best view as well. Quietly, Anya flew upwards, jumping from balcony to balcony, passing the few guards that were patrolling the area who, to Anya's luck, didn't see her.

Once at the top, Anya sat on the edge on the ramp, both hands clutching it so she wouldn't fall. She looked around, the sight taking her breath away. If what she saw on the ship wasn't enough, this really amazed her.

"Republic City..." she whispered to herself, a little smile forming on her lips, "I think I'm gonna like it here."

* * *

**Well, that was chapter 5! They're now back in Republic City, where the action will begin :) **

**As for the reviews, I'm gonna answer them here, in the authors note at the end of each chapter. **

**So thanks everybody who reviewed, I really do appreciate it :D**

**GreyJedi1:** Thanks a lot! Updates will be every two/three weeks maybe? It depends on how much free time I have :) and thanks for the advice on the POVs, I'll think about it :D


	6. The Pro-Bending Arena

The young air bender let out yet another sigh as she rested against the old tree. She had a pile of books next to her, some of which she had already finished. She was a quick reader, an even more quick learner.

Lately Anya had been passing some time alone under this tree, the occasional lemur or White Lotus Guard passing by to accompany her. There wasn't much she could really do- Pema was way too preoccupied with baby Rohan, Jinora was too busy reading away in the main library, Ikki was playing somewhere with her friends that would sometimes visit her on the island, and only the Spirits knew what Meelo was up to.

Whenever Anya got bored of reading, she would practice her bending. It was quite rusty since she "awoke" and she needed to stretch it out. Now she could skillfully perform the moves she had learnt from Aang's visits to her. He was really the only teacher she ever had, apart from Gu Lin- but he taught her waterbending moves. It helped a lot though, as waterbending was as smooth as airbending was, making her bending more advanced than it usually is.

At least now she was changed back into her air nomad colours, as winter had passed and spring had arrived at Republic City. Pema had given her some of her old clothes, Anya cutting and sewing them out into her usual getup. She wore a yellow shirt that crossed along her chest like a kimono would, her old but recently washed orange sash that held her shirt together, wrapping around the lower half of her stomach so it would serve her as a belt. Her sleeves went halfway down her arms, just a few inches past her elbow, the rest down being an orange-brown, serving her as arm braces as well. For the rest of her outfit she wore Korra's old school kid airbender pants she had to wear during her early training days, as well as her boots. Korra didn't mind, she preferred her Water Tribe clothes by far. She styles her hair like she used too, a crown braid, leaving the rest of her long black hair flowing freely down her back.

Although she hadn't seen the city up close, Jinora had explained many of the new things to her. She talked about Korra's adventures, about Amon and Tarrlock, about how she defeated them and saved Republic City, even though she hadn't a clue where they were. Jinora told her about bloodbending, the bending that was so torturous and cruel, it had been banned from ever being used. Anya had asked if there were other types of bending she didn't know about, Jinora nodding eagerly.

_"There's also lightningbending, sandbending, lavabending, mudbending, metalbending- which has become really useful in the police force nowadays, bloodbending and energybending."_

_Anya's eyes widened. "Back in my days there was only four types of bending, for every element."_

_"Things changed I guess," Jinora said, burying her head into __her book._

_"They sure have..."_

Anya's eyes narrowed as the small insect flew around her head, creating a buzzing torment that the air bender could no longer take. As the fly passed in front of Anya, she blew from her mouth a jet of air, pushing the insect away with force.

A satisfied smile appeared on her face as she watched the bug that once annoyed her hurtling away in the air.

Suddenly, the leaves above her began shaking, and a small airbender appeared, hanging on from the branch in front of Anya.

The girl let out a small shriek, and, seeing that it was only Meelo, let out a sigh of relief. She hated people sneaking up on her.

Meelo laughed, hopping off the branch and onto the patch of grass besides her.

"Whatcha reading?" He asked, lying flat on his stomach so his legs were waving in the air behind him. Anya chuckled. She had passed some time with Meelo and, much to Korra's warnings, he wasn't _that_ annoying.

"Your grandpa's adventures," she answered, then patted the rest of the books besides her.

Meelo looked at the books, his face changing into a confused and somehow disgusted one.

"That's a lot of books," he pointed out, frowning. Anya nodded.

"But they're great stories. I'm at the part when they're at the Boiling Rock. You know, when Sokka and Zuko find Su-"

"I know gran'pa's stories, pretty lady," Meelo interrupted, waving his hand to dismiss her.

Anya smiled. Right now, the books were the only things keeping her from dying of boredom. She really had nothing to do.

Tenzin was gone from dusk to dawn, always busy at the United Republic Council as chi-blockers were still on the loose, as well as discussing the rebuilding of all the destroyed structures by Amon's attack- pro-bending arena included. Bolin has been assisting him through that, being an earthbender he had a crucial part rebuilding the damages caused. He didn't mind as the pro-bending arena was all that he had, and he was payed doing so. Bumi was there too, temporarily taking in Tarrlock's position on the council, after hus disappearance.

Korra was gone as well, spending her days giving back the bending to all those who lost it. She never realised that so many people did, making her go back to the thought of Amon and how frightened she was when he took her bending away. It really was a horrible thing for a bender. When you're used to doing something your whole life, losing it makes you wonder what there is left to do. Even though Korra still had her airbending, she felt horrible not being able to do anything else. Maybe that's how non-benders felt, but then again they never did bend in their lives-how could they possibly know?

Now Korra would come back at the same time as Tenzin, the power of energybending draining her own energy at the end of the day. But at least it was for the citizens of Republic City, and Korra's job was to help them, being the Avatar and all.

Mako too hadn't been around either. He still needed money as he thought staying at air temple island still was rude towards Tenzin and his family, even if they constantly insisted it wasn't. It was just something that stuck in the firebender's mind. He was given a job in the police departement, patrolling streets in search of criminals and thieves, sometimes joining his girlfriend on task forces.

Asami on the other hand had bigger issues. Ever since her father's arrest by Lin Beifong, who had become Chief of the Police department after it's previous one dropped out due to his lack of motivation and bravery- Asami had been struggling with his business. Because of that scandal, Sato mobiles sales have dropped incredibly low, leaving Future Industries on the way to being bankrupt. She needed to find a way to get more customers- and fast. She would be gone during the day, off to her father's factory and sometimes at night, she'd attend galas, in hopes to talk some sales into rich businessmen.

But even so, Asami had to come to air temple island to see Anya and the rest, as she moved back into the Sato mansion the second day they came back from the Pole.

Anya would've gotten off the island long ago, explored the city and discovered everything she didn't know, but she couldn't. "Safety measures", as Tenzin would call it. Anya couldn't leave air temple island until he was sure that they weren't any chi-blockers left. Anya found it ridiculous. If there really were so called "dangerous criminals" out there, she could sure as hell defend herself. She had been doing fine against the Fire Nation _that_ day, she didn't see how this could be any different.

She grumbled, going back to their conversation.

_"Chi-blockers are different," Tenzin said, arranging his coat, placing the layers in the correct order. "They can block your chi, meaning you can no longer bend for a considerable amount of time, leaving you powerless."_

_"Bending isn't everything," Anya protested, "I was taught how to fight with and without bending. If I had my swords I become just as dangerous and deadly as a snake." Tenzin curiously looked at the girl as she pouted, crossing her arms and glaring into nothing, wondering how on earth she was related to him. He who was so calm and careful like his father, besides the way she looked, Anya was quite the opposite of Aang. Like Korra had told him, she was indeed though as he had sometimes caught glimpses of her training. She was also stubborn, like she was right now, and her carelessness... He thought it was best to not think about it at the moment._

_"We'll see about you leaving the island," Tenzin said after a while, Anya's mood lightening up a little._

_"Really?" she beamed, a grin appearing on her face. Tenzin nodded._

_Anya was about to spin in the air when Tenzin stopped her. "But," he said, making her freeze, "Only if you're careful." He looked at her dead in the eye, "Really careful." _

_Anya nodded continuously, happy that she could finally leave_.

But that was four days ago, and sadly for Anya, nothing has changed.

"Did you read the really old one?" Meelo suddenly popped up, making Anya snap out of thought.

"Huh?" she asked, seeing that the little air bender has changed position and was now lying on his back, blowing a leaf in the air, making it rise and fall with each breath. She found it amusing that he could take the simplest of things, like a fallen leaf off a tree and make a game out it.

"Did you-_breath_-read the-_breath_-really old-_breath_-book you-_breath_-found in your bag?" he said, the leaf falling on his face.

"Oh," Anya said, realising that Meelo was referring to Gu Lin's book. He had once came in her room as Anya was cleaning up and took the old book, looking through it, claiming he wanted to see some pictures. But he was disappointed as the book only contained plant pictures and writing, Gu Lin's, which was not the best in the world. "I've actually never thought of that." She was so caught up with the electronics on the island, bending and her brothers' adventures that her guardian's book didn't even cross her mind.

A pang of guilt went through, making her frown.

Anya got up, picking the books off the grass and walking back to the dormitories. She passed the guards posts, where as usual, they were all lazing around, listening to what Anya called, "the magic box". No one had explained to her what a radio was yet, but she had found it marvelous. The talking man coming out of it was speaking rapidly, his voice loud and strong, making people want to listen to him. He talked about the reopening of the pro-bending arena, making a few guards cheer. Anya puffed, seeing as such a small thing could excite them. Bolin had explained to her what pro-bending was, and to her it sounded very much like an Agni Kai. But she wasn't sure of it, as Bolin's explanation was quite bad, so she kept her comment to herself.

Anya went back to her room, leaving the books on the dresser, opening it's top drawer. In it were her main belongings- the trinkets, her old clothes she insisted on keeping, her flute, the satchel and finally, the book. Taking it, Anya quickly flipped through the pages, seeing as if wasn't as used as she thought it was. Maybe the ice conserved it too.

She looked at her bed, frowning. Lately Anya hadn't been sleeping well at night- not that she really needed sleep anyway. She would just lie down, stare at the ceiling and think about the events that occurred in her life. Sometimes she'd had enough and just break. She'd turn around, head down on her pillow so no one could hear her, and she'd cry for hours. And then she'd stop crying, when she felt like she had shed enough tears and go back to laying on her back and pretending everything was okay.

Pushing that thought away, Anya jumped on her bed, arranging herself so she was comfortable.

Anya still had many questions that needed to be answered, starting with what happened _that_ day. She still couldn't get over the fact that her own boyfriend tried to kill her- ex-boyfriend now of course. But it still was a mystery. She though she knew Zu Ten, she thought he wouldn't ever harm her, but apparently she thought wrong. How could he do such a thing? How could he look her in the eye, yet attack her like she wasn't different?

Anya had thought many times that it wasn't him, that it was someone else and with all the commotion around her, she had imagined it was. Going back to that, it seemed silly to think so. She recognized him immediately. If it wasn't his raven black hair or golden eyes, his high cheekbones or how his nose would point upwards just a little, it was his moves that gave him away. The firebender who attacked her performed the very same moves Anya had watched Zu Ten rehearse over and over again.

And maybe this book was going to answer those questions that just couldn't leave the young bender's mind.

* * *

"What have you been up to?" Bolin pipped in at the table, making everyone look up from their meals. Anya realised the question was directed to her, making her swallow the food she was chewing quickly.

"I've nearly finished book three of Aang's adventures," she answered, making Bolin's eyes grow wide.

"Already?" he gasped, surprised that she could finish it that quickly. He didn't read the stories, they were told to him when he was little, but he has seen the books and to him, they were huge.

"Well," Anya said, poking her roll with her chopstick, "When you've got nothing to do for two weeks, you tend to occupy yourself," she flicked her eyes up to Tenzi just for a second, so that what she was saying was directed to him. A sigh coming out of his mouth confirmed that he had understood that she was bored to death, a small smirk appearing on her lips.

Korra smirked as well, then with the back of her hand she softly hit Tenzin's arm to get his attention.

"What?" he asked, his voice in a whisper.

"There's been another sighting..." Korra said.

"Of chi-blockers?" Tenzin let out another sigh, "How many are there left?"

"We're not sure," Korra pursed her lips, "Lin says a few hundred, but councilwoman Narla* thinks there are much more."

**[*small A/N: for the councilwoman Narla bit, there is a councilwoman who is representative of the Fire Nation, but she wasn't named in the series, so I just called her by the first thing that popped in my head, Narla :) ]**

"So..." Anya said, breaking the low conversation Korra and Tenzin were having, mixed with everyone else's, "The magic box thing said the pro-bending arena was reopening," she looked over at Bolin and Mako with a smile, "That must be exciting."

"Oh it is, and I have great news!" He turned to Korra and his brother, "Since our last tournament was so rudely interrupted," Bolin didn't need to leave in details, everyone was aware of Amon's attack, "They've decided to start from the beginning again. So we'll be training and having matches until it's time for the tournaments, so the Fire Ferrets can once and for all win this thing!" He grinned, slamming his fist on the table with excitement and determination.

There was a short moment of silence when Bolin was looking back and forth, from his brother to the Avatar, when his smile was slowly turning into a frown.

"We're not going to win this thing, are we?" he said slowly, his sentence sounding more like a fact that a question.

"Look, Bo," Mako started, "It's just with how things are at the moment, Korra and I were thinking that it's best if we just stopped pro-bending for a while."

"So," Bolin said, looking at the both of them with obvious hurt, "You're leaving the team?"

"Temporarily!" Korra chirped, "We'll be back, better than ever to kick those Wolfbats' butts!"

Bolin frowned at them but didn't say anything. He was upset, that was for sure because he knew that when his brother meant "a while", it was for a few weeks, maybe even a month. And the problem was that in three weeks time there were the qualifications for the teams wanting to compete in the pro-bending tournament, and Bolin was afraid his team wouldn't make it.

"Ah," He grinned, waving his hand and shaking his head, "It's alright. Just as long as we kick their butts, I'm all good." He smiled, the other two chuckling along and exchanging glances of relief. Mako knew how fragile his brother could be about pro-bending, and he was silently praying that he wouldn't make a big deal out of it, which, _thank you Spirits_, he didn't.

"So, Tenzin," Anya said, starting her daily plead that everyone was waiting for as she did it every single time at the table, making Tenzin freeze, "When can I leave the island?"

Tenzin glared at her, his nostrils flaring, eye twitching, Pema looking at him with concern and his hand gripping his chopsticks so hard, they looked like hey were going to break, but Anya didn't move at all. She kept the same pose, sitting up straight, brows raised and mouth in a thin line. Korra smirked at this, Bolin puffing slightly.

"Soooo?" Anya pressed on, wanting Tenzin to either explode or give in.

"You know what?" he finally said, letting his chopsticks fall and splatter on his plate. He took a second to breath and recollect himself, then turned to Anya, "Fine. Tomorrow you can visit the city." A grin spread across her face when he stopped her with a finger raised in the air, "But remember-"

"I know, I know," Anya said, rolling her eyes, "I have to be careful. We went through this before."

"And you can't talk to strangers and you can't be left alone and you mustn't bend."

"Why not?" Korra asked, frowning. She thought that now that people knew of Anya's existence, she could bend freely whenever she wanted too.

"It's for her own safety, Korra," Mako pipped in, understanding the situation and earning a nod from Tenzin, "There still are dangerous people out there who might want to use Anya as a good excuse to get money."

"What?" Anya puffed, "Kidnap me for a ransom? That's only if they can catch me."

Tenzin rolled his eyes and soon the discussion and dinner was over.

The trio, followed by Anya walked to the patio, where they usually sit to chat and drink tea before going to sleep. They would talk about their day, the three doing most of the talking and Anya most of the listening.

"So," Bolin said, leaning on a column, Pabu climbing onto the railing besides him, "What do you want to see tomorrow?"

"Me?" Anya said, leaned back on the bench she was sitting on, thinking, "Absolutely everything," she chuckled, "If I can."

"Then you have to start with the pro-bending arena," Korra said, "Hey, Bolin can take you!" She looked at the earthbender, "You said you were heading down there tomorrow, weren't you?"

"Oh yeah," Bolin said nodding to himself, then smiled down at Anya, "You're gonna love it."

* * *

"Is this really necessary?" Anya asked as Tenzin rearranged the same hat she wore when she arrived on air temple island. A stern look from the monk answered her.

"You can never be too sure." he said, dusting off her brown coat that reached bellow her knees and was held together by a matching belt across her waist.

"Don't you worry Mr Tenzin," Bolin said, placing a hand on Anya'a shoulder, "She's in good hands."

Tenzin looked down at his hand, then back at the boy, letting yet another sigh. _Hopefully_, he thought.

As Bolin and the others boarded the boat, Anya stayed back a while, saying she needed to tell Tenzin something.

"Uh," Bolin said, surprised, "Sure? Whatever." He shrugged and leaned on the boat's railing, near Korra and Mako. Anya nodded, she quickly hurried back to the monk, who was surprised she was back already.

"Your boat is going to leave-"

"I know," she interrupted, looking back at the boat, then back at him, "I just needed to ask you something that's been bugging me all night."

Tenzin's big brows went up, before telling her to go on, and to make it quick.

"It's just that, in your father's stories he talked about brainwashing, when they were in Ba Sing Se," She watched as Tenzin's brows now furrowed, "I was just wondering if you knew if it was possible _before_ the Hundred Year War."

"What, brainwashing?" Anya quickly nodded. Tenzin placed a hand on his chin, thinking a little, "It's quite possible, the Dai Li was create by Avatar Kyoshi hundreds of years before the war, but a method so cruel could have been invented later on," he then stopped, curiously looking down at the young girl, "Why would you ask me that?"

Anya's eyes widened but she looked down, gulping, as what Tenzin had just said confirmed last nights' suspicion. If the Dai Li existed way before the war, could they have passed their secret of brainwashing to the Fire Nation? If so, it would answer Anya's question of why Zu Ten was so merciless when attacking her village.

She looked back into the monk's eyes and flashed a grin, to say that everything was fine. "Nothing," she smoothly lied, "Just a random question."

Tenzin narrowed his eyes at the airbender, wondering what she was up to. But, knowing her and what she was like for the past two weeks, he didn't want to know and kept his thoughts to himself.

As the boat entered the dock, Anya's mind once again filled with questions. Beeping Sato mobiles past by quickly, as well as motorcycles, buses and mopeds. Some have music blaring out of their radio, random salesmen with bullhorns yelling their products as well as the neon signs lit even in broad daylight on the windows of shops and restaurants... It was all so annoying to Bolin, but fascinating to the airbender.

"So," Bolin said, smirking at Anya's expression, "Any questions?"

"Yes!" she said, pointing at the nearest Sato mobile, "What's that?" They were close enough to the car that the man driving inside it looked up at the girl, finding it weird that she was pointing at his ride. He then looked at her coat and hat and, thinking that she was one of those "country folks" that have never been to the city and never seen such new technology, he rolled his eyes, accelerating as the red light turned green.

"That," Bolin said, watching as it drove away, "Is a Sato mobile. It's one of the many transports in this city."

"They're all made of metal?"

"Yup."

"What happened to dragon mooses? And komodo rhinos?" Anya asked, remembering her visits to the Fire Nation and how useful those two animals were for transportation.

Bolin scrunched his nose. "Yeah, those two aren't really used for that nowadays..." he said, just as they passed a food stall.

The man standing next to it was in a bloody apron, yelling his merchandise through a rolled newspaper. "Fresh komodo sausages! Fresh komodo sausages! Nice and juicy, right off the grill!"

Anya let out a noise of disgust, Bolin chuckling and redirecting her through the crowd, in order to get to the pro-bending arena. Bolin searched through his pocket, pulling out a paper on which he had scribbled down the schedule for matches and training hours for the next week. He quickly read through it, walking head down, Pabu gripping his shoulder tightly, in fear of falling off, he had one arm holding the paper, the other Anya's arm as she was kind of slowing him down by looking everywhere.

Finally, they climbed the grand steps of the pro-bending arena, the airbender letting out a low whistle, making Bolin chuckle.

"And," Bolin said, pushing the both wooden doors open so it would be like a grand entrance, "Here we are," he walked in front, both hands in the air, "The pro-bending arena."

Anya walked past him, gaping at the sight. It was grand alright, a large chandelier hanging from the roof, two giant marble staircases on each side of a large balcony, on which a dozen boys and girls or more, all benders, were waiting to enter the hallways leading to the training room, so they could sign up for matches.

Bolin had explained it to her on the way to the city: teams had to sign up in order to participate to the matches of the league, and the sixteen best teams get to be in tournaments that are played during the last month of the year. The teams compete in elimination-style matches, with the winning team winning the jackpot of a total of four hundred eighty thousand yuans. In other words, winning the tournament is Bolin's dream, and it will bring an end to his and his brother's financial issues.

_"But isn't it a little too early for the matches?" Anya had asked, referring to when Bolin said the tournaments were during the last month of the year._

_"Yeah but you have to be good to be in the tournaments," Bolin had explained, "That's why there are matches, to qualify you." _

Bolin couldn't hold in his excitement and, grabbing Anya by the wrist, pulled her up the staircase in a hurry, pushing some benders in order to be first in the line, leading to some angry comments, Anya apologizing for the earthbender.

As they walked through the halls, Bolin had to remind himself to keep Anya close to him, as she nearly wandered off in another room without him paying attention.

"Hey! Bolin!" the earthbender swiftly looked for the familiar voice, then found his curly haired friend, waving his arms in the air to get his attention.

"Noru!" Bolin beamed, rushing over to his buddy and jumping to his arms, giving him a bro hug. It has been over two months since he last saw his best friend and he gave him a nice fist pound on his back, making the firebender cough.

"Ah man," he started, shaking his head at Bolin's actions, "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Bolin rolled his eyes, thinking about why they haven't crossed roads since. He looked at his friend with a but of worry, "You didn't get your bending taken away, didn't you?"

Noru shook his head, "Nah, I was one of the lucky ones. So, what are you doing here anyway?"

"What do you think?" Bolin exclaimed, stretching his arms to the side, "I'm here to win this thing!"

Noru puffed while looking around the earthbender, "Where are your, uh, teammates?"

"Oh," Bolin said, "They can't make it for now, but I'll sign them up as well. For now I'm here with a new friend." Bolin placed a hand on Anya's shoulder besides him, but it wasn't there. His hand dumbly grasped nothing and just fell on his side, making Noru laugh.

"Imaginary friend?" He said, chuckling.

"No, she was right here..." He frowned, looking around for her. _Dammit_. "Hey, Noru?" Bolin said, the firebender's lifted his brows, "I'll catch ya later."

"Alright man!" Nori shouted as Bolin was already walking through the upcoming crowd, "Good luck finding your imaginary lady!" He shook his head before chuckling again.

Anya searched through the crowd for a sign of Bolin, but the amount of black hair and her short hight made it difficult. She stood on her tiptoes, her nose in the air as she turned her head from left to right, trying to find him or even Pabu, as a red fire ferret should normally stand out in a crowd of grey, blue and green.

Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder, making her jump. Then, thinking it was Bolin as he had a habit of touching shoulders, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank goodness," she said turning around and shaking her head, "I was starting to think I was lost."

She looked up, expecting stern green eyes but instead, found amused blue ones. It wasn't Bolin, but a man, much taller, with paler skin, tousled black hair that messily fell on the side on his head, and a smirk that could mean a lot of things- but for now it was obvious that it read amusement.

"Oh," Anya said, slightly embarrassed, "Sorry."

"It's alright," he answered in a slow, smooth voice. "What's wrong? You lost, little lady?"

* * *

**Well there you have it, chapter 6 :)**

**Reviews are much appreciated :D **

**FirstTeamAvatar:** Thank you! I will :)


	7. Seaweed Noodles

"It's alright," he answered in a slow, smooth voice. "What's wrong? You lost, little lady?"

His brows went up as he placed his hand on the wall besides him and leaned on it, blocking Anya's way, making a wall for her.

"Uh, no," she said, uncomfortably looking around. She turned her gaze back at him and noticed that he was still smirking. "Yes?" she gave up.

He let out a low chuckle, shaking his head. Anya took a second to observe his posture and outfit, before speaking up.

"Are you a pro-bender?"

"The best there ever was," he grinned, exposing shiny white teeth that clearly were taken care of more than they actually needed, "Fans come from everywhere just to see us play," He paused.

"Although," he tilted his head at her, making his side band dangle loosely on the side of his forehead. "I've never seen you around."

The airbender pursed her lips. "That's because I'm new around here. I just moved in the city about two weeks ago."

"You like it?"

"The arena?" he nodded, making the airbender continue, "It's my first time here."

He looked up, brows arched. His blue eyes flickering from her toes to her hat, he pushed himself off the wall. "Come on," he said, nodding to the space behind him, "Let me show you around."

"Oh," Anya answered, watching as he gradually came closer to her, "I um, I don't know about that."

"_Come on_," he pressured, this time flinging his arm across her shoulders, walking and dragging Anya along with him, "There's no better guide than me."

Anya thought about it first, about how she wasn't allowed to talk to strangers and not be alone, much lesser with them. But after all, how was she suppose to make friends in such a big city if she couldn't talk to them?

Without further argument with herself, the naïve and curious part of her went along with it, and let the pale stranger with the pompous attitude guide her down the yellow hallway, away from the crowd and away from a soon to be crazy Bolin.

He, however, had pushed his way through a sea of people to get a glimpse of the airbender, wherever she was. It has been a little more than five minutes that he had lost sight of her, after talking to Noru who had been a distraction for him. Bolin thought this would be easy, he thought his plan will work smoothly. All he wanted to do was go in the arena and sign his team up. And then he was assigned to keep an eye on Anya which he has, miserably failed.

Now the earthbender just wanted to find her, for her sake and for his as well. He couldn't imagine Tenzin's reaction when he'll learn the disappearance of his aunt. He could just picture the search teams, police patrols going through every street of the city, looking in every shop and asking millions of questions. And who was the one to blame if they never found her? Bolin.

With a rather loud grunt that made a few heads turn, Bolin quickly went back to Noru, thinking that maybe Anya went ahead of him, towards the training rooms and the arena itself.

Upon seeing the earthbender's return, Noru grinned, patting another man next to him, with dark skin and grey eyes. He, on the other hand kept his lips in a thin line, his dark hair tide in a low pigtail and wore dull colors like black and grey. "Bo, buddy, you're back-"

"Not now Noru," Bolin quickly mumbled, his eyes darting from woman to woman his field of vision could take.

"Still haven't found your _lady friend_?" the firebender teased, nudging the dull man next to him as if trying to get him to be involved in the joke as well. He didn't even budge.

"No." Bolin said, his lips forming a thin line, his brows frowning, "But have you two seen, by any chance, a girl who's about this tall," he held up his hand, approximately demonstrating Anya's small height, "With black hair, pale skin, grey eyes, wearing a weird bowl-shaped hat and a very, very large brown coat?"

Noru looked at his friend funny but seeing that Bolin's features were dead serious, without even a hint of amusement, he thought about it.

"Doesn't ring a bell," he finally said, making Bolin grunt. "What about you, Tork?" he said, looking up at the dull guy besides him.

Tork narrowed his eyes for a while, placing his hand on his badly shaven chin before letting it go, and to Bolin's silent prayers and pleas, nodded.

"Really?" He said, almost shouting, "Where?"

Tork pointed in a direction, "She went that way, with a man."

"A man?" Bolin frowned, rather surprised, "Do you know who?"

This time, Tork's lips did move, twitching just a little downwards in disgust, his eyes narrowing in hate. "_Tahno_."

* * *

It has been quite a while that the two have walked down hallways in silence. Anya had managed to wiggle her way out of his strong arm's grasp, without really offending him. It's not that she didn't mind, which she actually did, but it was because she did not know who he was that made it all the more uncomfortable.

At first, Anya was debating whether to make up an excuse and leave him to go back to Bolin, but she didn't think following him was all bad. She had learned many more things about pro-bending than Bolin had told her, more specific things that is. The way Bolin explained was brief, and he had a habit of messing up words together, making the sentence impossible to understand. He, however, explained the sport of pro-bending with extreme details, going to the thrill of stepping on that arena to the joy of winning a match, all in a low, smooth voice that kind of made you want to listen to him.

He went on explaining along the way the few diplomas that were attached on the walls with nails, or what the closed doors they passed kept as a secret.

He stopped in front of a picture hanging off the wall, two men and a woman dressed in their pro-bending uniform. They all looked as if joy was about to burst out of them, even if it was already spilling a little. Anya immediately recognised the stranger she was with in the middle of the trio, holding his helmet high in the air, a huge grin plastered across his relieved and sweaty face.

"By the way," he spoke up as he started to walk again, "The name's Tahno," he glanced sideways, down at the airbender, "What do they call you?"

"Anya." she said but quickly shut her mouth, biting her lip as she realised the words that slipped through her lips. She mentally cursed, narrowing her eyes at the ground, so that Tahno wouldn't see. One of Tenzin's rules, _do not reveal your true identity._ And clearly, she just broke it.

"Anya, huh?" Tahno repeated, as if debating whether is was a good name or not, "Cute." And apparently it was.

"Thanks." she mumbled, unsure of what to say.

They walked down the hallway a little longer, Anya following Tahno who made small conversation, asking if she was a bender. Anya had to stop herself from answering too quickly, not wanting to say yes and then prove her skills, leading to fully finding out about who she really is. Shaking her head, Tahno let out a small "tsk", saying it was a shame.

Finally, the waterbender stopped in front of a door that seemed bigger than the rest they past, and dug through his pockets. After a moment he pulled out a key, sneaking a smirking glance at the airbender who was curiously observing him, making her cheeks a soft shade of red in embarrassment. Chuckling, he turned the key in its lock.

"And _here_," the waterbender said, pushing the door wide open, so Anya could clearly see it all, "Is where it all happens."

Anya slowly walked into the small box, consisting of a single bench in the middle of the room and a few lockers near the back, on the side, but she kept her eyes locked on the view the large balcony was giving them.

She walked up to it, until the edge and pressed both hands on its metal railing, her eyes taking in the grand view that was before her.

Everything looked brand new. From the polished tiled floors to the clear glass skylight, from the bright lights to the dark marble bleachers and finally, the arena, that was polished and buffed until it was almost sparkling with the sun shining through the skylight. The water below her in which the players would fall into looked fresh and clean. Anya could clearly see how the arena was divided in two colours, red and blue, like Tahno had explained, as it was freshly painted back into those colours, making it really stand out.

She let out a low whistle, Tahno coming up from behind and observing the arena with the airbender.

"So, you like it, Annie?"

"It's amazing," she said, "I know why you love your job so much."

Tahno nodded. "I'm just surprised the Council put in this many funds into renovation. They did a pretty good job, huh?"

She agreed, but then frowned, realising what he had said moments ago. "But, my name is Anya, not Annie."

"I know," Tahno shrugged, smirking down at her, "I like Annie better."

Anya smiled back, then looked away, feeling as the moment suddenly turned awkward. She forced herself to not look up, to not blush, even if she could feel his stare burning into the side of her head and the blood rushing to her cheeks.

"So..." Tahno said, his voice turning back into a smooth, slow one, as he leaned on the railing, tilting his head towards her, the smirk still there, "How old did you say you were?"

Anya rolled her eyes and was about to answer until a sudden piercing and girlish cry echoed around the arena, making her eyes widen, looking around for its source. She then looked across the arena, at a balcony that was part of a box like the one they were standing in, where Bolin had both hands on his mouth, as if he had said something that he was now ashamed of.

"That was Bolin?" Anya puffed, referring to the scream, and looked down at Tahno who was still leaning on the railing. He didn't even move, only his lips were in a thin line, almost pursing them. He proceeded to rolling his eyes, turning his head to see who he had expected it to be.

"Yep," Tahno breathed, "I've heard that girly, inhuman, pesky and annoying squeal before."

Anya laughed as she watched Bolin disappearing from the box, only to bust the door behind them open seconds later.

"Wow you're fast," Anya said as he rushed towards her, engulfing her in a giant bear hug. Anya would have hugged him back a little, but her arms were being squished by Bolin's strong ones.

"Thank the spirits I found you!" He said, squishing Anya's face on his chest making her slightly suffocate. He pulled back, Anya realising in what state he was in. He looked paler that he usually was, his eyes wide open and heaving, like he just witnessed a murder or seen a ghost. "I've been looking everywhere for you Anya!" he said, but then noticed the waterbender, giving him a little glare before grabbing Anya by her arm, pulling her closer to him and continuing his sentence, "Why are you with, _him_?"

"What's wrong with that?" Anya asked, giving the earthbender a look.

"Yeah Bolin," Tahno asked, crossing his arms, "What's wrong with that?"

Bolin frowned at the girl then sent another quick glare at Tahno before pulling even closer, protectively.

"I don't know," Bolin grumbled, turning his inner actor on, "It's just that, she's still my cousin and all, so...Yeah."

"Oh," Tahno said, rather surprised, "You two are related?" They both nodded, Bolin first then Anya, imitating his game, "Funny, you don't look anything alike."

"Well she's my third cousin." Bolin invented, "Uncle remarried twice, lots of children, not enough money- ugly business, not something to really talk about with rude and obnoxious cheaters." Bolin looked at Anya to see if she wanted to add anything but, with her brows arched at the last bit of his sentence, she just let out a small "ok".

"Anyway," Bolin continued, "We have some things to do so if you don't mind, we'll be on our way." And with that, the earthbender laced his arm with the airbender's, and turned away from the waterbender, leaving him to smirk alone.

"That was a close one." Bolin muttered as him and Anya turned away, beginning to walk out of the box.

"No but, what was wrong with me being with him?" Anya said, sneaking a glance behind to see if Tahno was still there. Unfortunately for her he was, and watching her. Upon seeing her little glance, Tahno's smile grew wider, making Anya quickly turn back, cheeks flushed. She had just enough time to hear his laughter before Bolin guided her into the little hallway, back to the main hall where they meddled with the crowd.

"Tahno's a jerk," Bolin explained, "The biggest jerk of all jerks to have ever been called a jerk." he angrily huffed, "His team cheats their way into winning every single pro-bending match by bribing the ref, he has such an arrogant and rude attitude towards everyone and let's not mention how he is with girls..."

That made Anya more interested than she already was. Bolin glanced at her and let out a sigh, seeing her expression.

"He's a heartbreaker, Anya," he said with a sigh, "He sleeps and whores around with just about anyone who he has interest in and-"

"What?" Anya said, cutting him short. She pushed herself out of Bolin's grip, giving him a look. "Do you _seriously_ think that I'm _that_ dumb and hopeless to let a guy like him sleep with me?"

"What? No!" Bolin's eyes widened, gulping. "No." he repeated, now serious.

"Good." she huffed and with that, they continued walking, silently this time.

In a matter of minutes, the two were in another room. This one resembled the hallways, with yellow walls and wooden floors, there were two large tables at the end if the room, almost unnoticeable because of the lines of people standing in front of them. Anya guessed that this is where the benders had to sign up to take part.

"Bo!" Noru came up to him, followed by another man with dark skin and grey eyes. He kept his lips in a thin line, his dark hair tide in a low ponytail, like most Water tribesmen Anya had seen wear their hair in the South Pole.

"Noru," Bolin grinned as the firebender approached, looking at Anya with sudden interest. Bolin noticed, making him continue, "Uh, Noru, this is Anya. Anya, Noru."

Noru grabbed Anya's hand, bending down to place a gentle kiss on the top of it, his fiery yellow eyes not leaving hers as he did. "So this is your lady friend, eh?" He smirked at Bolin once he was done with his rather sudden and surprising gesture.

His comment made both their eyes widen, Anya laughing a little as Bolin cleared his throat, his cheeks crimson red.

"Um, no," He said, swallowing his saliva, "She's uh, she's my uh, cousin." He finally let out, nodding to himself.

"Seriously?" Noru's brow went up, "The cousin card?" He rolled his eyes, giving Tork the "can you believe them" look. Tork just let out a "humph".

"Clearly," Noru said, "You two aren't cousins. I mean," he took a step closer to Anya, again, gazing in her eyes, making her feel uncomfortable, "How can one with such pure beauty be related to," he looked at his friend with a scrunched nose, "This thing."

"Wh-hey!" Bolin playfully punched him in the chest, Noru laughing. Bolin passed a hand through his hair, pouting a little, "I'm gorgeous."

"No but really," Noru turned to Anya, "Who are you?"

She glanced at Bolin who nodded, making her wonder if he meant she could tell the truth or lie again.

"Look," she said, uncomfortably grabbing her left arm and looking to the ground, "I would love to tell you, but I can't." This made the firebender frown ever more, "At least not for now."

As Noru shrugged it off and went to Bolin, talking to him about some memory they shared a while back, Anya impatiently waited on a bench for him to finish his errands. So far, she didn't particularly like the pro-bending arena. Maybe it was because she didn't see any matches yet or that the hallways were too crowded and the people too pushy. But the arena itself was amazing.

After an hour or so, Bolin emerged from the crowd with a satisfied smile, looking around for the airbender. He found her still sitting on that wooden bench, except that her hat was pushed past her nose and she was leaning against the wall, sleeping. Bolin let out a sigh, glancing at a clock on the wall then bit his lip, realising how long it took for him to sign his team up.

"Hey," he said, crouching in front of her. He poked her cheek when she didn't react to his call, then poked it again. This time she jumped up in surprise, high in the air, abnormally high for anyone making Bolin gasped and grab her coat, roughly pulling her down to the ground. She landed on her behind with a loud thud, pushing her hat up and giving the earthbender a hard glare. Pabu jumped off his shoulders, crawling up to her and nudging her knee for her to get up.

"What was that for?!" she whisper/yelled, as yelling was inappropriate at the moment and whispering wouldn't make him hear her. Bolin apologised, helping her up.

"You can't be bending out here, remember?" he said, once more lacing his arm with hers, dragging her out of the arena. Anya huffed, letting him.

As they stumbled onto the street, Bolin noticed it was already dark out, meaning they spent their entire day in the arena, queuing and waiting. The city had come to life, the neon signs finally having a purpose and lighting the buildings in a mix of flashy colours. The Sato mobiles were still zooming past, their headlights on so it was like quick lighting bolts-only noisier. Bolin took Anya back into the streets, where the crowd had suddenly multiplied and the smells tripled. Anya held her nose at some point as the odours weren't the most pleasant.

Anya was so captivated by all the commotion that she almost didn't notice the person following them. She had felt a presence watching them long ago, but she just thought that it was someone in the crowd who just happened to look their way. But now, after a good five minutes, she felt that uncomfortable feeling you just want to shake off because it made you cringe. Anya looked behind, her eye catching at the last minute the face of a girl, dodging behind a tall man. She turned back, frowning.

"Someone is following us," she whispered harshly, at a rather shocked Bolin.

"Huh?" he asked, thinking he hadn't heard her correctly.

"Someone," she said, looking around, "Is following us Bolin. It's a girl, black hair, braid." He gave her a look but she nudged him to look behind. "There." She pointed in the crowd, "See? She's there."

Bolin followed her finger only to see a bunch of unknown people, not a single girl with a braid in sight, making him wonder if the airbender was still sane. With a sigh, he turned away, telling her that it was only her imagination or that she was seeing things. Anya huffed, but let it be.

"So," she said as they entered the park where Korra has been on her first day in the city, passing a large fountain and many salesmen waving flyers in the air, "What now?"

"Well, are ya hungry?" He asked, looking at her to see her response. She eagerly nodded, making him laugh, "Then I can take you to my favourite eating place in the city."

"Where's that?"

"Oh, you'll see." he grinned, taking her further into the alleyways.

"Bolin and his surprises..." Anya joked, shaking her head and tutting. He puffed.

"Eh, well, I'm full of them," he smirked, "I gotta let some out from time to time."

They walked down a dark, narrow alleyway, only lit by a few lanterns hanging from the windowsills of a few shops they passed. Finally, they arrived in front of a high-rise building, where on the ground floor was a restaurant, the wooden sign hanging from the doorway on which was painting in a block letters "Narook's Seaweed Noodlery".

"The best noodlery in the town," Bolin said, pushing the green sliding door made from wood and a door-curtain behind it. Surrounding the door were various temple-like architectural adornments, as well as four yellow lanterns.

The inside of the restaurant was heavily decorated with authentic Water Tribe relics, art and tapestry, although there were still some modern touches to those traditional ones. Most of the relics and art were yellow, but some blue flags were seen hanging from the walls, painted with jagged lines and swirls. Bolin high-fived a plump man as he entered, the man greeting him as if he were a brother, patting him hard on the back before pointing to a square golden and brown table in the corner, near a closed window, that seemed like the only free table in the busy restaurant. Bolin thanked the man, giving him a hard pat on the small of his back, making the man cough, and went to the table, Anya following him. The man nodded towards her in a friendly way as he had never seen her before, Anya returning the gesture.

As Bolin ordered what he called "the usual", Anya looked around, seeing that many people were busy slurping on green seaweed noodles or munching on rolls, but what really caught her eye was a girl in the far back of the restaurant, on the complete opposite side as they were seated. She was holding a menu straight up in front of her face, presumably reading it, but Anya could clearly see the braid sticking out from the top, tied in a pink hair-tie.

"Bolin," she whispered again, leaning on the table, just as the waiter left. He looked at her and chuckled, seeing as her eyes were narrowed and her fists clenched, her lips in a pout and her brows knitted together.

"What's wrong now?" he joked, sipping on the tea that had already been placed by the waiter's first visit. The tea here was free, one of the perks of this noodlery.

"Don't look now but-" she started just as Bolin turned his head. She quickly kicked his leg, making him abruptly turn back, letting out a loud "ow", making heads turn. Pabu jumped from his spot on the table, tilting his confused head at his master.

"What was that for?" He said, his hand finding his shin where she had previously kicked.

"I did say 'don't look now'," she said, rolling her metallic eyes, "It's the braid girl."

Bolin raised a brow. "The _braid girl_." he said in a mocking manner.

"Yes," she said, her narrowed eyes turned into a glare, "She's sitting there, at the back." Bolin turned, this time slowly and lifting both legs up so Anya couldn't kick them, and peeked over the heads of the eating customers. "Under the blue flag with the swirls, she's holding up a menu." Anya added, making it easier for Bolin to find her.

"_She's_?" Bolin repeated, furrowing his thick brows. Anya nodded. "Look again." he said with a sigh, returning to his tea.

At first Anya was confused. She looked back at the seat under the flag with the swirls, but when the seated person put down the menu, it was a man, with a tight bun and a thin moustache, telling his waiter his order whilst stroking his goatee. Anya blinked, puzzled, the earth bender laughed.

"Either you need glasses or a trip to the doc," he laughed, shaking his head and placing a hand on the fire ferret, stroking him.

"I swear she was-she was right there..." Anya mumbled, then, feeling dumb, sank in her chair, crossing her arms. She knew what she saw, but did she really see her? She thought about the incident at the Pole, when she thought she saw this shadow when she was out with Korra. Turns out she didn't, or Korra didn't see it, or Anya just imagined it. A shadow can easily be something else you than what you thought it could have been, like maybe what Anya saw on the ice was just a shadow of a bird. Yet this girl with the braid looked so real, was it really a trick on the airbender's mind?

"Here ya go, two bowls of freshly made seaweed noodles," the waiter appeared, sliding the bowls in front of the two, interrupting her day-dream.

Anya picked up her chopsticks, taking a bite of the gooey green noodles, a smile suddenly appearing on her face.

"Woah," she said, Bolin's loud slurping stopped for a second so he could look up, "These. Are. Amazing!" She exclaimed, digging in, taking mouthfuls of noodles. Bolin watched, eyes wide with surprise and admiration as she ate the thing quickly in a very messy way, before chuckling and doing exactly the same.

* * *

**There you have it, chapter 7 :)**

**I guess this was more of a filler chapter, since not much has happened except maybe the inclusion of new characters and that little hallucination of hers...**

**Reviews are appreciated and loved :D**

**atlafan1286:** I suppose it wasn't so hard to guess :P


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